The REA’s position on the forthcoming Energy Bill is that although it supports its intention to refocus the electricity system towards low carbon electricity generation, it does not feel the proposed arrangements work enough for renewable energy.
Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the REA, said: “EMR fundamentally overhauls the support framework for low carbon power at a time when confidence is fragile. Given welcome but slow progress on renewable heat, and major difficulties for renewable transport, it is essential that government gets EMR right if it is to secure 30 percent of the UK’s electricity from renewables by 2020 and stand a chance of meeting our 2020 renewables targets. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the energy secretary in this regard and his desire to remove politics from this vital area of policy. However he should be aware that some of the proposals his department is currently consulting on run counter to what he is trying to achieve.
“Additional capacity is desperately needed on the system, and relative to other low carbon options, renewables can be deployed quickly and cheaply. Government should listen very carefully to our asks, and we are pleased to hear from Ed Davey’s speech today that we have already started to made progress on a couple of them.”
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