Energy Bill receives royal assent and passes into law

More than 10 months after it was first introduced in parliament, the Energy Bill has received royal assent and been passed into law.

The main focus of the bill was the oil and gas sector but it also contained provisions for the early closure of the Renewables Obligation to onshore wind.

In recent months the Lords has been battling the Commons over amendments to the bill which would have extended the grace period for the early closure.

The bill required projects to have obtained planning permission by the 18^th June 2015 in order to be eligible for the subsidy. An amendment tabled by Lord Grantchester would have granted eligibility to those projects which had not received planning permission by the cut-off date but had already secured “democratic local consent”.

The amendment was defeated in the Commons, as was a second iteration, which only extended eligibility to projects that went on to receive planning permission within three months of the cut-off date.

On Tuesday evening the Lords finally gave in to the will of the Commons, voting down a third attempt to introduce the amendment. With no more amendments outstanding, the bill has received royal assent and become law.

Shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy tweeted: “It defies belief that minister are so ideologically opposed to wind farms they were prepared to risk our North Sea industries.”

Energy secretary Amber Rudd said: “The Energy Act is a vital part of our plan to ensure our families and businesses have access to secure, affordable and clean energy supplies they can rely on, while keeping bills down.”

Last month the government confirmed that early closure of the RO would not be enforced retroactively, after the original planned closure date – 31 March 2016 – came and went before the bill was passed.