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Investment in renewable energy hit an all-time high last year at £10.7 billion, but at the same time the cost of reaching the government’s 2020 targets may have also moved higher.
A recent report for the Renewable Energy Association found that even though investment in renewables since 2010 is set to reach £50 billion by the year’s end the same amount will be needed again to reach the country’s target of meeting 15 per cent of demand from renewables by the end of the decade.
The report, carried out by consultants at PwC, found that of the £10.7 billion invested in renewables around 45 per cent was invested in solar pv which has a relatively low load factor and may contribute to increasing the amount of investment needed to reach the UK’s targets.
At the same time, underinvestment in renewable heat poses a risk to the UK’s 2020 targets for bioenergy, heat pumps and solar thermal, the report found. An estimated £5.9 billion of investment is now required to 2020 to make up for lost ground.
The key concern for renewable electricity generators will be clear and stable policy from the incoming energy ministers, said PwC’s director of renewables and cleantech Ronan O’Regan.
“The sector will be looking to the new secretary of state to provide the investor certainty through to the end of the decade and beyond both in terms of funding and technology preferences,” O’Regan said.
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