The UK Government is inviting views from developers and stakeholders on its proposed grace period for onshore wind projects.
It comes as the government confirmed it will scrap support for new onshore wind projects from April 2016 under the Renewable Obligation (RO) scheme.
The proposed grace period will apply to projects that are able to:
> show they have relevant planning consents dated no later than when the announcement was made, i.e. 18th June 2015;
> show they have a grid connection offer and acceptance of that offer, both dated no later than the date of the announcement or confirmation no grid connection is required;
> provide a Director’s Certificate confirming the developer or proposed operator owns the land on which the wind farm is to be built OR has an option or agreement to lease the land OR is party to an exclusivity agreement in relation to the land.
Length of grace period
Projects that qualify for the proposed early closure grace period will be able to accredit under the RO up to 31st March 2017.
“Such projects will be able to accredit by 31 March 2018 under one of the existing grace periods for projects affected by a grid or aviation delay provided they also satisfy the eligibility criteria for at least one of those grace periods”, DECC stated.
Feedback
The government will not be holding a formal consultation on the proposals but is welcoming views and information from the onshore wind industry and affected stakeholders before framing the terms of the legislation.
DECC added: “We invite onshore wind developers to tell us about any of their projects affected by our proposals. In particular, we are interested in hearing from developers with projects that are currently in the planning system but which have not yet secured planning consent.”
Responses can be sent via email to [email protected] by 20th July 2015.
