Utility Week

14 | 3RD - 9TH AUGUST 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation Analysis I t didn't turn out to be the best day for the government to unveil the centrepiece of its environmental awareness campaign. Clean growth minister Claire Perry trum- peted on 19 July that Green Great Britain Week would be held in mid-October. But any positive green vibes generated by this announcement quickly faded as news trick- led out on the same day about the gov- ernment's plans for scrapping the feed-in tariff (FIT). A consultation paper, snuck out on the BEIS (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) department website with a lot less fanfare than Green Great Britain Week, says there will be no replacement for the scheme when it ends next March, effec- tively axeing support for the small-scale renewable projects. Within a few days, though, the govern- ment's battered renewable energy creden- tials enjoyed a fillip with last Monday's announcement of a timetable for the con- tracts for difference (CfD) auctions for larger schemes. So, aer this roller-coaster ride over the past fortnight, is the sector any clearer about the thrust of government policy on low-car- bon energy? Clarity on generation The CfD pipeline announcement is undoubt- edly welcome for investors and developers. They have been complaining for months about the absence of clarity surrounding the process for divvying up the £557 million le in the £730 million pot allocated for these auctions by then-chancellor George Osborne back in 2016. But while the announcement offers wel- come certainty, it releases no new money for renewable energy, points out Doug Parr, head of policy at Greenpeace. He says: "Let's not exaggerate the sig- nificance of this announcement. It would be eccentric of the government to stand in the way of cheap, clean power, given that it has set aside the money for it." One gloomy renewable industry source says: "Offshore wind still looks pretty good, but for anything other than that technology it looks pretty bad." The sector has been waiting for the announcement on the future of FITs since it was promised in last autumn's Clean Growth Strategy. But the lack of detail in the paper on small-scale low-carbon projects has le Alan Whitehead, shadow energy spokesman, wondering why it took so long to produce. Referring to an exchange he had with his counterpart in the House of Commons a few days ago, he says: "Claire Perry said she wanted to bring forward workable policy but now the consultation has come out there really is no policy." The FITs regime has been a particular boon for the solar sector with the installa- tions of photovoltaics (PV) growing from 100MW when the scheme was set up in 2010 to 12.7GW at the end of last year. Of those installations, around 4.8GW have benefited from the FITs regime, according to the con- sultation paper. But the paper signals that there will be no direct subsidy available for new small-scale low-carbon generation. The solar sector had been expecting bad news ever since the government's decision in 2016 to dramatically scale back the level of support for renewable generation. The only solace on offer is a hint that 50kW-plus projects will be allowed to participate in the power purchase agreements market, but the paper acknowledges that smaller micro- Game changes for renewables? It's been a mixed two weeks for low-carbon energy funding. David Blackman reflects on government policy and the sector's winners and losers. Small-scale community renewables will lose out under the changes

• Cover