Save Our Solar!

Have you heard? The government is cutting its support to the solar industry here in the UK, just at a time when we need it most! We've teamed up with our friends at 10:10 to call for action to Save Our Solar, and we need YOUR help! Click HERE to take action and tell the government what you think about their cuts.

Back in 2010 the government introduced the Feed in Tariff (FIT) scheme, which aims to encourage the growth of small and medium sized renewable energy projects (such as solar, wind and hydroelectricity) in the UK. So far, FITs have contributed towards a huge uptake in renewable projects, most of which being rooftop solar panels... you may have noticed them popping up on rooftops all over the UK! This surge in solar makes a lot of sense when we remember that the sun provides our planet with more energy in one hour, than all of the energy we produce globally in one year!

But just as the solar industry begins to steer the UK down the path to a greener future, our government want to seriously reduce support for renewables. With four solar companies having already gone out of business, the proposed cuts of 87% (!) in solar subsidies could lead to a further 20,000 plus people losing their jobs. And whilst nobody expects the renewable sector to be subsidised forever, when energy from renewables costs the same (or less) than that from dirtier carbon resources, policies supporting a smooth and stable move to grid parity are key.

Solar power is now seen as the best option to steer our world away from its reliance on fossil fuels. Over the last five years, FITs have helped transform the UK's energy industry - at the start of 2015, over 22% of power came from renewables and over 700,000 homes were generating their own energy!
 

78% of the British public want the government to invest in local renewable projects, and as our world leaders get ready to discuss actions against climate change at the Paris Summit this December, we need YOUR support to remind our government just how important policies, like FITs, are in helping us achieve a low carbon economy and a greener future for all.

At Ben & Jerry's, we want to see a thriving local-renewables industry in the UK and therefore we are concerned about these proposed cuts. We will be submitting our own response to the consultation and are inviting our fans to speak out too!

Our friends over at 10:10 have put together a handy web page to make it a whole lot easier for us folks to express our frustrations - click HERE to take action and tell the government what you think about their cuts.

Take action now and help Save Our Solar!