Green Subsidies Slashed Again - Solar Farms Next In Line As Cabinet Stance 'Hardens'

Green subsidies are to be slashed again, as the new Tory cabinet “hardens” its stance on eco policies. Cabinet source have said a “big reset” is coming this autumn on subsidies, which are paid for by consumers and push up household bills.

“There is a hardening view in the cabinet that we’ve got to deal with green subsidies,” the source told the BBC. An estimated £4.3 billion is expected to be paid by consumers and hard working families into the green energy industry this year alone.

The cuts are expected to hit the solar farm industry within weeks, which is spreading like a rash across the British countryside. This follows last months surprise announcement by the government to strip the on-sure wind farm industry of its generous subsidies by April.

Furthermore, a tidal lagoon to generate power off the cost of Swansea could be ditched, and there will be a major expansion of nuclear and gas to meet demand under this government.

“We need to deal with those extra costs at the top of the electricity bill,” another Cabinet source told The Daily Mail. “A struggling pensioner has to pay it when she doesn’t have the benefit of putting solar panels or a wind turbine on her roof.”

Last week the think tank Policy Exchange release a new report which stated: “The average household energy bill has risen by £120 over the past five years purely due to ill thought through energy and climate policies which fail to put affordability at the heart of policymaking.”

Richard Howard, author of the report, said: “Household energy bills have soared in recent years. This is not, as some have suggested, due to “rip off energy companies”, but in fact in large part due to government policy. Over the past five years energy and climate policy and network costs have pushed up energy bills by £120 for the average household.”

The report revealed that, “Government energy and climate policies in the form of carbon taxes, subsidies for renewable energy and energy efficiency grants now make up 7% of the average bill and network costs account for a further 22%.”

A spokeswoman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change said: “Reducing energy bills for hard-working British families and businesses is this government’s priority. We’ve already announced reforms to remove subsidies for onshore wind, and that work to make sure bill payers are getting the best possible deal is going to continue.”