The Government’s new bioenergy strategy is “promising” but lacks the policies needed to support it. That’s according to Graham Meeks at the Combined Heat and Power Association.

Yesterday the Government said bioenergy could supply as much as a tenth of the UK’s primary energy demand without compromising our low carbon targets.

The director of the district heating industry body suggested despite the Government’s “much needed clarification”, there are still limitations.

Mr Meeks said: “Whilst we now have a promising Strategy, we are still a long way from having the policies that can deliver it. The Government has proposed removing support for CHP under the Renewables Obligation, whilst the Renewable Heat Incentive provides neither the value nor the certainty that investors in CHP need.

“And looking slightly further ahead, details of how the Contract for Difference Feed-In Tariff arrangements can work to incentivise CHP are still not forthcoming. As a result, development of renewable CHP today has all but halted in the UK.

“The very risk that Government has identified – of locking in feedstock supplies to inefficient power generators – will almost certainly occur unless there is urgent action to address these major gaps in our policy framework.”