By Jessica Shankleman
businessGreen
The government has been accused of causing investor uncertainty that could cripple the fledgling solar farm market, by delaying a decision on subsidy cuts that are expected to come into effect in less than four months.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) had said it would confirm the latest changes to the Renewable Obligation regime for solar farms by the end of November, ahead of the new rates coming into force on 1 April 2013.
The six-week consultation published at the start of September included plans to slash the level of support for solar projects larger than 5MW in capacity from two Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) currently to 1.5 ROCs from April 2013.
However, no decision has been confirmed as yet and solar companies are increasingly concerned the delay is now seriously impacting investment plans for next year.