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Community onshore wind and hydro projects could get help with finance under plans to extend the Green Investment Bank’s remit.
The sector was dealt a blow when the Co-operative Bank nearly collapsed last year. The industry estimates the Co-op provided about three quarters of project finance for small scale wind developments since 2010.
The government has applied to Brussels to allow the GIB to lend to certain small scale renewables.
Under European state aid rules, the GIB can only lend to specified sectors that might otherwise struggle to attract finance. These include offshore wind, energy efficiency and bioenergy.
Shaun Kingsbury, chief executive of the GIB, told the Financial Times: “We believe there is a market failure, therefore it’s an area that needs capital and it’s an area we should be allowed to invest in… Historically there have only been a few players in that market with the Co-op being the biggest one until it pulled out.”
He is hoping to get approval from the European Commission within three or four months, he said.
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