Tricks of the trade, by Jillian Ambrose

“Increased renewables are denting the power price”

The renewable energy lobby would have you believe that they are more spinned against than spinning. But as government crackdowns on renewable subsidies have come hard and fast, so too have the increasingly hysterical claims from those who try to oppose them.

The latest in line is Good Energy, which this week sought to “balance the debate” over renewable energy costs by ­pointing to its impact on the wholesale power price.

There’s no denying that increased renewables in the UK energy market are denting the power price. Particularly windy days will see spot prices plunge while an increased reliance on fossil fuels when wind speeds wane has the opposite effect. But to argue that renewables are having a “positive net impact” on consumer bills as a result of this is at once both laughable and frustrating.

The money supporting renewables might not come from the market, but it still hits consumers in the pocket. A quick look at the German market proves the point: some of the highest deployment of renewable energy and as a result negative wholesale pricing and some of the highest bills in the EU.

After a series of ever more confusing emails with the Good Energy team, my only conclusion is that this particular effort has not increased the transparency of the debate. The report may well prove that subsidy costs have climbed less than wholesale costs have fallen, but I’m not about to thank wind ­turbines for the global ­commodity slump.