Energy Minister Michael Fallon yesterday denied that investors in energy sector had been left in dark over long term government policy .

When asked by Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee whether the government had provided as much certainty as possible, he responded firmly: “Yes. I think obviously if you’re undertaking a major revision of the energy market and you have a massive piece of legislation going through both houses, of course you’re going to have potential investors waiting to see what the final outcome will be.”

He said the Government had been making the picture clearer and clearer throughout the last year: “We brought forward the publication of the draft strike prices and the draft Contracts for Difference.”

Mr Fallon said they had also brought the final strike prices forward to last week and added: “We’ll be publishing the [final] delivery plan, I hope next week, with more detail of the Contracts for Difference.”

He said while there may have been uncertainty a few years ago, there was, he thought, “much more certainty now about the landscape for investment in low carbon.”

Quizzed by Labour MP Alan Whitehead on whether the Government had sent mixed signals about the final strike prices – over emphasising the shift in subsidies away from onshore wind and towards offshore generation – Mr Fallon said: “I think you may be placing a little more weight on ministerial remarks and statements and speeches than [they] can actually bear.”