Government’s wind decision ‘common sense’

The UK Government’s announcement yesterday on onshore wind support makes “common sense”, said WWF. The environmental charity welcomed the news of a 10% reduction in subsidies for onshore wind but […]

The UK Government’s announcement yesterday on onshore wind support makes “common sense”, said WWF.

The environmental charity welcomed the news of a 10% reduction in subsidies for onshore wind but questioned why it took so long to decide.

Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change at WWF-UK said: “This is a common sense decision by DECC and Ed Davey, but as far as victories go, it’s a skirmish in the on-going battle with the Treasury that is turning energy policy into a political football.

“It seems to be getting more and more difficult to get the Government to deliver on any green issues, all too often because of the dead hand of the Treasury and George Osborne.”

Following Energy Secretary Ed Davey’s comment about gas having an important role in the industry, Mr Allott added: “The Committee on Climate Change has made clear that the power sector needs to be nearly carbon free by 2030, and that a new dash-for-gas is neither economically sensible nor compatible with our legal carbon budgets. The Treasury is forcing DECC to take a massive gamble that gas prices will come down, on the basis of no credible evidence, while subjecting renewable energy technologies to continual review and uncertainty.”

The Government said the changes in subsidies will boost the economy by around £25billion and also help cut household bills.

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