Embarrassingly successful: an obituary for the UK's Feed-in Tariffs

clock • 9 min read

Philip Wolfe, one of the leaders of the feed-in tariffs campaign and the author of the first blueprint on their design, looks back at the history of the scheme and assesses the extent to which it has been a success

The introduction in 2010 of feed-in tariffs for green electricity revolutionised the renewable energy sector in the UK. There is now more than 200 times as much solar capacity as there was then - up from...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Energy

Study: British public concerned at prospect of reliance on US gas

Study: British public concerned at prospect of reliance on US gas

Three in five people said the UK should prioritise transitioning to renewable energy and net zero technologies to meet its future energy needs, as US imports rise 40 per cent in 2026

clock 01 May 2026 • 4 min read
UN climate chief: Fossil fuel crisis 'supercharging' global renewables boom

UN climate chief: Fossil fuel crisis 'supercharging' global renewables boom

Simon Stiell highlights 'immense irony' that some of the world’s biggest fossil fuel proponents are now ‘inadvertently supercharging the global renewables boom’

Michael Holder
clock 30 April 2026 • 4 min read
'The time is now': Santa Marta Conference closes with pledge to deliver new wave of fossil fuel transition roadmaps

'The time is now': Santa Marta Conference closes with pledge to deliver new wave of fossil fuel transition roadmaps

Inaugural Conference on Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels advances plans for national and regional roadmaps, as Tuvalu and Ireland agree to co-host next summit

James Murray
clock 30 April 2026 • 4 min read