Oct 9 2015
Responding to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s publication of grace periods for onshore wind farm developers as part of amendments to the forthcoming Energy Bill, Michael Rieley, Senior Policy Manager for Scottish Renewables, said.
“While we need to assess the precise impact of the announcement, it is clear that government has sought to address some unintended consequences of the decision to close the RO, for example, giving more time to projects unable to access finance because of the uncertainty created by the closure.
“However, many of our members will be bitterly disappointed that ministers are not going to allow projects which have submitted planning applications to be given a grace period.”
He added: “It is still our position that the UK Government’s rationale for removing financial support for onshore wind was unjustified. It is a course of actions that will, according to their own assessments, save just 30p on annual consumer energy bills and increase the UK’s carbon emissions by 63 million tonnes.
“Renewables remain key to meeting our long term and legally binding climate change targets, and it is vital that the Government sets out a long term plan to support the growth of the industry as we approach the climate change talks in Paris in December.”