Acc. to an article published in RenewableEnergyWorld.com (contributor: Paul Gipe) England is to launch a new feed-in tariff program in 2010. Britain's Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband has released details on the Government's feed-in tariff policy. The program designers have included a mechanism to encourage homeowners and small businesses to reduce their electricity consumption and invest in equipment with small CO2 emission. The proposed program was designed to set tariffs at a level to encourage investment in small scale low carbon generation.

Acc. to the program for example, a solar PV generator will be paid for all their generation. However, they will receive a bonus, 0.08 USD/kWh (HUF 14,50/kWh) for electricity delivered to the grid over and above their domestic consumption. Thus, if a homeowner is able to cut their domestic consumption, and sell more electricity to the grid as a result, they are paid the bonus on top of the posted feed-in tariff.

The designers were instructed to calculate tariffs not on ideology or economic theory but on the tariffs needed so that a reasonable return can be expected for appropriately sited technologies to meet the country's renewable energy and carbon mitigation targets. (The utilisation of renewable energies has to reach twenty % of the total energy production by 2020).

The program's targets are timid, two % of Britain's electricity consumption by 2020 means eight billion kWh (TWh) per year, and the tariffs are limited by law to projects less than 5 MW to protect the country's stumbling renewable obligation, the preferred mechanism for developing larger projects.

If implemented as proposed, the British program will offer some of the highest feed-in tariffs for example for small wind energy in the world. The tariffs (0.38 USD/kWh, HUF 68,40/kWh) will rival those in Italy, Israel, Switzerland reflecting the British Government’s belief that it can encourage the development of the utilisation of decentralized RES equipment.

Commentary:
The program designers are far sited. They are aware of the facts that the fulfillment of the Bruxelles suggestions can only be expected with the support of the people and the small businesses, and that the implementation of the program results in the increase of employment. They are aware and/or accept that two or more RES equipment adjacent each other do not necessarily supply simultaneously and the same way to the grid to be managed by the System operator.    

The Bruxelles suggestions have to be fulfilled by Hungary as well. The implementation of the Government’s intentions embodied in the EEL (Electric Energy Law) encounter difficulties at executive level. Local level solutions will not be supported, and the licensing of technical solutions allowing occasionally energy supply to the grid is excluded. The recently disclosed tender invitation for the construction of wind turbines can be regarded as a good proof of the executive level’s intention. This invitation makes the participation of small businesses practically impossible as none of them is in a position to supply a security equal to EUR 60.000/ started MW for several months not to mention other remarks such as the grid connection issue in case of more wind turbines adjacent each other want to be connected to the grid at the same connection point. The tender invitation renders the construction of wind turbines more difficult and increases simultaneously the uncertainty in the green collar employment.       

Hungary’s interest?