The Energy Bill is soon to become law after the Lords backed down on a proposed extension to the grace period for the early closure of the renewables obligation (RO) to onshore wind. Defending the government’s opposition to an extended grace period, energy minister Lord Bourne said: “Onshore wind is a well-established technology, the costs of which continue to fall, so it is right that government should scale back subsidy. The government have a mandate to deliver on their manifesto commitment to end new subsidies for onshore wind.
Utility Week 11th May 2016 read more »
The long-awaited Energy Bill was approved by Parliament last night with no amendments, after the latest bid to extend the grace period allowing wind farms to receive subsidies under the Renewables Obligation scheme was defeated in the Lords. The amendment, which would have allowed an additional four wind projects in Scotland to go ahead, has been the subject of a long-running battle between the House of Lords and the House of Commons in recent months. A handful of wind farm developers, including leading green energy supplier Good Energy, have expressed interest in developing new onshore wind farms without subsidies. However, many developers remain adamant some degree of financial support is needed to deliver new projects, arguing the government is subsidising more expensive forms of clean energy while stopping cost-effective onshore wind farms from accessing subsidies that would impose lower costs on bill-payers.
Business Green 11th May 2016 read more »