The Government has proposed a reduction of up to 95% reduction in payments
– from around £45/kW to around £2/kW – that are made from energy suppliers
to smaller, decentralised, and often renewable electricity generators.
But the Renewable Energy Association – Britain’s biggest such trade body –
said that the move represents a step backwards for cutting-edge energy
storage and demand-side response technologies, which stand to save the
energy system billions of pounds
Despite a parallel Government call for evidence on creating a more smart,
flexible energy system, the proposed actions would penalise smaller-scale
projects and in turn support larger, conventional power stations.
As the proposed changes would not be “grandfathered” in they would
adversely impact existing projects in addition to future ones, a move which
signals to investors that the UK is comfortable with penalising innovators
and those that would seek to develop badly needed energy infrastructure.
An REA spokesman explained: “While we agree that regulatory change is
needed to account for the significant uptake in decentralised generation,
renewable power deployment, and the growth of associated clean technologies
(such as storage and flexibility), such a narrow focus on one issue ignores
the wider issues at play and could lead to greater complexity and further
market distortion.
“This decision flies in the face in the face of where the industry is
trying to move, making decentralised and renewable technologies more
expensive whilst rewarding existing incumbent fossil fuels.
“Grid charging is complex, trying to unpick one area seriously distorts the
whole market. We, along with the vast majority of the industry, have been
calling for a significant code review to look at the entire area to ensure
that charges are fair and appropriate. This highlights the problems of a
selected few making decisions on behalf of the whole sector.”
0 Comments