Reform plans are ‘major threat’ to renewables auction

Net Zero Watch says the Reform Party may have stopped the green bandwagon in its tracks. In a news conference today, the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice announced plans to claw back subsidies from renewables operators.

With the party now ahead in many polls of Westminster voting intention, the announcement will be a major blow to a renewables industry already beset by problems, from soaring capital costs to collapsing demand. In particular, it threatens the next annual round of the Contracts for Difference renewables auction (AR7). The government needs the auction to deliver an unprecedented quantity of new renewables if it is to deliver on its Clean Power 2030 plan. However, the auction timetable has slipped compared to last year, suggesting that investors may already be nervous, and now Reform’s announcement may kill it off entirely.

Net Zero Watch director Andrew Montford said:

Reform’s announcement is undoubtedly a major threat to future renewables auctions, because it completely undermines the economic rationale for building new wind and solar. If it brings the renewables bandwagon to a halt, consumers will at least be able to hope that their energy bills will eventually stop rising.’