Minister accuses DECC of pulling the plug on clean energy
11 Sep 2015 04:42 PM
Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant has accused the UK Government of pulling the plug on clean energy over their decision to change the process for application to Feed-in Tariffs.
Carl Sargeant said that plans by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), which were confirmed last week, to change the Feed-in Tariff accreditation will deter much-needed clean energy investment and put community energy schemes in jeopardy.
The decision by DECC, follows a consultation in July 2015. However despite the majority of responses being opposed to the proposed changes DECC Ministers have decided to implement the proposal in the consultation, to end the ability to pre-accredit for Feed-in Tariffs and to remove the ability to receive a tariff guarantee through pre-registration.
Carl Sargeant said the decision essentially means that community energy projects might struggle to get the funding needed to begin development.
“This is another decision that fundamentally undermines confidence in investment in renewable energy projects,”
he said.
He cited the recent 270kW Abergwyngregyn hydropower scheme as an example of a scheme which was able to be built because it was based on sound finance and investor confidence.
Carl Sargeant added:
“The level of support for deployment of small scale renewables is clear in the strength of the responses to the consultation, and I urge DECC to consider reinforcing the success of this sector in driving green growth, rather than reducing support at this stage.
“I am clear that local energy remains part of our vision for the future of Wales. We will work with communities to find clever ways of securing the maximum value from the funding that is still available so that they can benefit economically, socially and environmentally from these schemes.”