REA chief executive Dr Nina Skorupska said: “The complexity of EMR has been well documented. It has also raised doubts that government would be able to stick to schedule, especially given the recent politicisation of energy policy. Government, and especially DECC, is therefore to be congratulated on succeeding in bringing the Energy Act in on time. This is a major step forward for realising the huge jobs and growth potential in home-grown, climate-friendly renewable power.”
RenewableUK echoed the REA’s congratulationary tone to government. Maria McCaffery, RenewableUK‘s chief executive, said: “This has been a long and sometimes arduous process for everyone involved but we recognise that the Energy Bill has now become legislation and the framework for development beyond 2017 is known.
“There are issues still outstanding to be resolved through secondary legislation, and in the face of very challenging strike prices there is still much work to be done between government and industry to ensure that obstacles are removed and much needed clean and domestic sources of energy can come forward over the next decade.
“Developing our domestic energy sources protects us from fluctuating fossil fuel prices, and could create tens of thousands of highly-skilled jobs over the next decade.”
Nick Green, associate director Savills Energy, said: “The establishment of the Energy Bill in law this week is good news for the industry, in that it ends a long period of controversy, uncertainty and debate. Indeed, with the Energy Bill and the recent National Infrastructure Plan, the energy sector at least has a framework on which to base its decision-making beyond 2017. This will be further supported by the launch of the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) Delivery Plan and a revised version of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) terms later today.