Government to lift subsidy block for onshore wind and solar
Published 2 March 2020
Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
The government is on the verge of re-opening the Contract for Difference (CfD) auctions process to onshore wind and solar projects.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is due to announce that it will lift the exclusion on so called Pot 1 technologies, the more established onshore wind and solar projects, from competing for CfD contracts.
Environmental groups were told about the move at a meeting at No 10 Downing Street this morning with Alok Sharma, the recently appointed secretary of state for BEIS.
Utility Week understands that eligibility for the contracts, which provide a guaranteed price for the electricity produced by a project, will be subject to developers engaging with local communities.
Pot 1 technologies have been ineligible for CfD contracts since a decision by David Cameron’s government to exclude them alongside the introduction of rules that made it harder for such projects to secure planning permission.
The government’s looming volte face follows increasing pressure to reverse course on the auctions, including from its own climate change advisor.
The Committee on Climate Change has recommended that CfDs for solar and onshore wind are necessary for the UK to meet its decarbonisation targets, while keeping the cost of energy down for bill-payers.
It has estimated that the UK’s solar power capacity will have to triple by 2030 in order to be on track for the government’s legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Please login or Register to leave a comment.