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Renewables sector has been “rocked by policy change after policy change”
The chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association (REA) has borrowed the prime minister’s election battle cry and called “strength and stability” for her sector.
Speaking today at the All Energy conference in Scotland, Nina Skorupska said REA members have been “rocked by policy change after policy change” over the last two years, along with “uncertainty following the Brexit vote”.
“From renewable heat, solar, biomass, biogas, marine – we have not seen a member unaffected,” insisted Skorupska. “But we now have to put that behind us and push forward.”
The REA chief executive was talking as the organisation launched its Manifesto for Growth, which sets out a number of key recommendations for whoever forms the next government after June 8.
The manifesto includes a call for the next government to commit to annual contracts for difference (CfD) auctions in the next parliament, as well as increase the renewable transport fuels obligation to 10 per cent.
It also calls on the next government to invest in a strategic system of intelligent electric vehicle charge points, which will allow cars to actively balance the grid.
“Next week, we will be publishing our annual Review, and despite the uncertainty I’m delighted that we have seen an increase in jobs in renewables, now standing at over 125,000 people working in the UK, up from 117,000 in last year’s report,” she added.
“Yet I know that figure could be higher if we were allowed to flourish and not held back. This is why I am delighted to launch the REA manifesto today, that we hope, if followed, will build on the progress the industry has already made.
“Our manifesto for growth is about creating certainty and confidence, a fresh commitment to the Climate Change Act, a smooth and orderly transition from the EU; and a clear and ambitious Clean Growth Plan, which we hope will show a post-Brexit Britain as a dynamic and bold country, looking at the opportunities of renewables, not clinging to the industries of the past.”
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