The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) should concentrate its limited renewable energy subsidy budget on offshore wind, in an effort to drive down costs and increase investor demand, the UK’s chief climate envoy has told edie. Sir David King, the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change, believes the level of financial support available for renewable technologies – which is capped via the Levy Control Framework (LCF) – should be pooled towards the UK’s world-leading offshore wind market, following recent subsidy cuts for solar and other low-carbon technologies. King’s comments come as pressure is mounting on DECC to provide more clarity on the LCF beyond 2020. Last summer, the Department withdrew and reduced subsidies for some forms of renewable energy generation, following revelations it had overspent its £7.6bn LCF budget by £1.5bn. The energy industry has since called for an “urgent review” of the Framework, to encourage investment across a range of technologies. Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has already told MPs that the Government’s next three auctions under its Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme – one of the subsidy mechanisms covered by the LCF – will be aimed at offshore wind, leaving major developers convinced that the UK is serious about supporting wind power, but less so about the likes of solar PV, biomass and onshore wind.
Edie 25th April 2016 read more »