Energy secretary Ed Davey has spoken in defence of the levels of financial incentives applied to renewable technologies.
In a speech made in London earlier this week, he described calls from within government to reduce payments as ‘misleading and dangerous’ and dismissed arguments that the cost of going green reduced economic competitiveness.
His comments come ahead of an announcement due in the next few days concerning the Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROCs) programme and changes to Feed-in tariffs for non PV technologies such as biomass and wind. Davey added that the renewables industry is worth £122bn to the UK economy and levels of exports could potentially halve the trade deficit before the next general election in 2015.
He said: “The real danger is not going green, but being outpaced by our competitors. Around the world, the countries who are most competitive are the ones who are investing most in low-carbon.
“When we are trying to attract investment to the country, investors can rely on the government not to act capriciously and to focus on evidence. And that is what we are going to do.”
