RenewableUK's Chief Executive Dan McGrail believes that the UK should embrace the economic opportunities in green industries like offshore wind and create well-paid jobs. The announcements made by the Prime Minister regarding changes to green policies have caused uncertainty and knocked investor confidence in the UKs net zero policies. The UK government needs to outline clear measures in the Autumn Statement to restore market confidence and compete against other countries for investment in renewable energy projects.
Original Press Release:
Sept. 20 -- RenewableUK issued the following news release:
Responding to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s speech on changes to green policies, RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said:
“The Prime Minister is right in saying the UK should embrace the huge economic opportunities in green industries like offshore wind and create well-paid jobs by making Britain the best place to invest in clean tech. However, today’s announcements will undoubtedly knock investor confidence, as many green technology leaders are now nervous about the increasing uncertainty around net zero policies in the UK.
“The Government is going to have to outline clear measures to restore market confidence in the Autumn Statement, not least to ensure that we can compete against the USA, Europe and China for investment at a time when the global race to build new renewable energy projects has never been more intense. The financial incentives being offered elsewhere risk draining private investment from the UK, so we need to see capital allowances which will bring developers back to the table here and stop vital energy infrastructure projects being put on hold. We also need to see new incentives focused on investment in manufacturing.
“The Prime Minister acknowledged the need to reform the annual auction process for new renewable energy projects, as there were no bids for new offshore wind farms this year, and the need to speed up the planning process as it can take over ten years to get some projects up and running. These are excellent aims, but we need clarity and detail urgently on how this will be achieved, otherwise they will remain nothing more than aspirations.
“If Mr Sunak is really serious about taking bold measures to save money for consumers, he should end our dependence on expensive gas as fast as possible, as the volatility of international gas markets caused the cost of living crisis. The fact is that the speeding up the transition to a green economy is the only way to protect billpayers from price shocks”.
Notes:
1. RenewableUK’s members are building our future energy system, powered by clean electricity. We bring them together to deliver that future faster; a future which is better for industry, billpayers, and the environment. We support over 470 member companies to ensure increasing amounts of renewable electricity are deployed across the UK and to access export markets all over the world. Our members are business leaders, technology innovators, and expert thinkers from right across industry.
2. RenewableUK’s events programme is available here(https://events.renewableuk.com/).
Source: RenewableUK
[Category: Energy, Renewable Energy, Regulatory and Legal]
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