The REA has submitted a response to the March 2020 “Contracts for Difference for Low Carbon Electricity Generation: Consultation on proposed amendments to the scheme“.

The REA welcomed proposals to fund both pot 1 of the CfD and create a separate pot for offshore wind projects, providing a more accessible auction for other less established pot 2 technologies.

However, the REA also opposed the decision to exclude biomass conversion projects from the CfD without making clear the governments longer-term ambitions for biomass and biomass carbon capture and storage (BECCS). The now lapsed Pot 3 of the CfD was never used and the technology has never been allowed to benefit from the auction mechanism.  A further strategy for how the Government proposes to utilise biomass and deliver BECCS is urgently required.

In responding to this consultation, we also encourage the government to use this opportunity to take decisive action to address barriers facing renewable energy deployment as well as realising the potential growth that could be realised for the UK economy. This, in turn, will create regional growth and contribute to the UK meeting its Net Zero emissions target by 2050. REA data has predicted that by 2030, there could be up to 252,668 renewables jobs in the country with 46,647 of these being concentrated in the North[1].

A successful CfD scheme can help do this alongside other policy support mechanisms.

 [1] REA REView, 2020

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