Friday 13 March 2020

Removal of subsidy ban on onshore wind ‘could speed up net zero progress’

The removal of the UK Government's subsidy ban on onshore wind could speed up progress towards net zero.

That's the suggestion from GlobalData, which predicts the move will provide "new impetus for the growth of the onshore wind market", noting that since the introduction of the ban in 2015, the development of new farms has declined significantly as investment dropped off.

It states "the commercial deployment of a range of renewable technologies is integral for the judicious exploitation of the available resources to great economic and environmental benefit" and notes onshore wind's newfound ability to participate in Contract for Difference (CfD) auctions will accelerate the decarbonisation of the country's energy system.

Bhavana Sri Pullagura, Power Analyst at GlobalData, said: "The next CfD auction is scheduled to be held in 2021, and allowing onshore wind to compete for long-term contracts will only improve the viability of upcoming projects and renew investor confidence. Since early last decade, several iterations of subsidy revisions have hindered the market, leading to a decline in annual capacity commissioned from 1,791MW in 2017 to 714MW in 2019.

"By removing supportive market structures for onshore wind, the UK risked preventing significant proliferation of the technology; compromising its push to reduce carbon emissions."