IT IS time for solar power to go solo and axe the cash incentives, according to one of North Wales’s leading renewable energy providers.

David Jones, managing director of Hafod Renewables, said it’s time for solar energy to pay its own way and he has backed the Government decision to scrap their subsidies for solar power.

The government has said households that install solar panels in the future will be expected to give away unused clean power for free to energy firms earning multimillion-pound profits, provoking outrage from green campaigners.

But Mr Jones, a former Holywell High School pupil, believes the decision is the right one. He says that solar power can now hold its own against oil, gas and conventional electric competitors.

He said: ''To be honest the time is right for that to happen. Solar power isn’t a Cinderella-style operation any more. It’s a real contender and one with a better, cheaper long-term future than fossil-fuel or even nuclear generated power.''

Initially solar panel installation made up 80 per cent of their business but gradually there was a move towards air and ground-source systems which overtook solar with over 60 per cent of Hafod’s business.

Earlier this year they were named as Wales’s top Renewable Heating Initiative installer.

In the last 12 months increasingly efficient and cheaper solar panels, often combined with sophisticated battery technology, have seen solar energy become more popular again.

But there has been opposition to the Government‘s plans from the renewables sector.

Frank Gordon, head of policy at the Renewable Energy Association, said: ''Our members are very concerned. There are thousands of small-scale installers, 40% of whom say they could exit the solar installation market.

"That could mean 6,000 job losses for the sector if the Government follows through with this."

Households in the feed-in tariff scheme - introduced in 2010 - are currently paid for the electricity they generate for themselves and for the excess energy they export onto the grid for others. They can typically save up to £600 a year on their energy bills and receive around £250 per year in tariff payments.

But David, who has gone virtually off-grid at home, says solar is ready for the challenge.

He added: “Solar is still worth it. The price of solar has fallen 80 percent in seven years, battery storage is now affordable and you can store the energy you generate for when you need it.

''We’re on the brink of an energy revolution. Coal is being phased out and nuclear energy is at record low levels due to under-investment in the sector and this year renewables accounted for over 30 per cent of the power used in the UK.''