REA: Concern over lack of support for renewable energy industry in Autumn Budget

• The Autumn Budget is a missed opportunity for the Government to show their support to the renewable energy deployment and clean growth
• ·         The Budget lacked clarity on issues including alternative support for decarbonising heat post 2020/21
• ·         The Government freezing of the CPS rate could have a detrimental impact on the industry
• ·         Energy Capital Allowance withdrawals for shows a lack of Government support to the industry

The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget released today acts as a missed opportunity for the Government to show their support and commitment to the renewable energy industry and for continued leadership on clean growth.

The budget lacked clarity on a number of issues facing the industry including alternative support for decarbonising heat post 2020/21, support for less developed technologies and a route to market supported by the Government.

A further worrying announcement for the industry is the Budgets statement on Carbon Pricing, a greatly anticipated area of the Budget. The Government are freezing the CPS rate in order to lower the Carbon Price Floor. REA analysis believes that this could be detrimental to the sector with the potential of coal being reintegrated back into the UK’s energy mix.

The REA welcomes the Government’s plans to introduce a tax on the production and import of plastic as well as the £20 million pledged to reducing plastic waste and boosting recycling.

The REA is disappointed with the withdrawal of the Energy Capital Allowance (ECA) for technologies on the Energy Technology List and Water Technology List from April 2020 to be channelled into an ‘Industry Energy Transformation Fund’. This is a further missed opportunity for the Government to show their support for the industry.

James Court, Policy and External Affairs Director at the Renewable Energy Association said:

“It is frustrating that another Budget comes and goes, yet the opportunity for the UK to be a genuine leader in crucial future technologies slips by. There is huge support for renewables across the country, parliament, and even within government, yet the Treasury continues to stymie the potential growth in this sector.

“Next to nothing in this budget will help build clean energy infrastructure we so desperately need, and in parts actively harms the industry. Carbon Prices frozen, tax allowances for energy products scrapped, and a continued block to market for the cheapest forms of electricity.”