Solar developments above 5MW will now have an additional 9 months to connect up to the electricity grid.
Projects qualifying for this grace period will need to commission and have an accreditation date on or before 31 March 2016, and they will receive the Renewables Obligation subsidy that is in force on that date.
In the consultation response, Decc stated: “It should be noted that this grace period is not designed to allow additional deployment but rather permits delayed deployment that was already accounted for in the impact assessment.”
The Solar Trade Association (STA) chief executive Paul Barwell praised the decision.
He said: “This will allow solar farms to continue to get funding from the Renewables Obligation when, through no fault of their own, there has been a delay connecting to the grid.”
Decc has also proposed to allow mid-scale solar installations to be transferred between buildings.
Under the plans, tenants in commercial buildings would be allowed to move their solar panels to a new property if they have planning permission and a grid connection at the new site.
This will apply for solar installations above 50kW and that have been receiving feed in tariff (FIT) payments for five years or more.
The consultation said the plans will “increase the flexibility of the scheme” and “decrease investment risk and increase investment attractiveness for investors”.
Barwell stated it was “great that Decc is now consulting on this key issue”, and he added “it is so important for businesses to be eligible to take their solar installations with them if they move”.
The consultation closes on 5 January 2015 and, subject to consultation outcome, the Parliamentary process and state aid considerations, the changes will be introduced through legislation next year.