Some doubt had been cast on the continued support of these schemes after David Cameron pledged to review green levies and the mechanisms used to fund these schemes via consumer energy bills.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has now briefed the media that support for renewables would not fall within the scope of the upcoming levy review.
STA ceo, Paul Barwell, said: “Credit to Ed Davey’s office for being very quick to reassure us that investment in renewables is safe. We were able to pass on assurances to our members. While the public political wrangles have been frustrating, some of the media reporting has been inaccurate – and inaccurate reporting can create real damage for investors. We hope it is now crystal clear that investment in renewables, including solar, is secure.”
Director of external affairs for RenewableUK, Jennifer Webber, said: “It was pleasing to see a government minister go on record to give this assurance to the industry that the support for renewables is not under threat from this government. We have recently had reviews on the support needed by each technology and there’s no need to revise that.
“Moving forward we need to put this issue to bed once and for all so that we can get on with decarbonising our energy mix and investing in the green economy, and wind is one of the most cost effective ways of doing this.”