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RWE puts £1bn onshore wind investment on hold
UK onshore wind farm projects worth £1bn have now been scrapped or put on hold by RWE Innogy following recent policy changes, the German energy giant has disclosed.
Library filed under Taxes & Subsidies from Europe
Tories face fight with Lords over onshore windfarm subsidies
After a series of constitutional rows, the tensions between the government and the upper chamber will reach a new flashpoint as the energy secretary, Amber Rudd, presses ahead with a scheme to end subsidies for new onshore windfarms.
David Cameron dismisses concern about Nissan wind farm near Sunderland
Mr Cameron said subsidies for renewable energy had to be limited because they put up fuel bills. He said: “Every single subsidy that is given to these technologies is extra money that we put on to people’s bills, making their energy more expensive.
Top court sides with government over decree cutting renewable subsidies
In its sentence handed down on December 17, the Constitutional Court dismissed arguments by the Murcia regional government, which was challenging parts of the 2013 government legislation, which adopted urgent measures to guarantee the financial stability of Spain’s power industry.
Denmark, a green energy leader, slows pace of its spending
“I think the criticism is over the top,” Lars Christian Lilleholt, Denmark’s energy minister, told the Politiken newspaper last month. He said the country still planned to invest 800 million krone, or $114 million, in green energy research in the coming year. “There is less money, but it is still a lot. And I sit in a government that must find a way for the Danish economy to make ends meet.”
Autumn Statement: Government cuts green schemes
He said the move would lower customer bills, saving an average of £30 a year for 24m households. But it is also the latest sign that he is prioritising affordability over attempts to cut emissions. ...The decision to cut the scheme, known as the “energy company obligation”, was one of a series of measures announced by the chancellor aimed at reducing the costs of the government’s renewable energy schemes.
Wind and solar farms must pay their true costs, energy secretary Amber Rudd vows
Wind and solar farms will be forced to pay for the extra costs they impose on the UK’s electricity system as a result of their intermittent nature, Amber Rudd, the energy secretary has announced. Renewable generators will be held "responsible for the pressures they add to the system when the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine".
Amber Rudd: end to pursuit of green energy at all costs
Britain will no longer pursue green energy at all costs and will instead make keeping the lights on the top priority, Amber Rudd, the energy secretary, will vow this week. Households already face paying over-the-odds for energy for years to come as a result of expensive subsidies handed out to wind and solar farms by her Labour and Lib Dem predecessors, Ms Rudd will warn.
UK energy groups warn subsidy cuts threaten old wind farms
Energy companies have warned that subsidy cuts will prevent them from replacing old wind farms as almost 1,000 turbines approach the end of their lives over the next decade.
Germany’s ereen energy transition hits low income families hardest
The green energy transition is becoming ever more expensive for consumers. By the end of 2016 an average household will incur additional charges of approximately 540 euros. This is evident from calculations by the Institute of the German Economy in Cologne (IW Köln) seen by Welt am Sonntag.
Anger as investment rule change by ministers threatens to take wind out of energy projects
It means that those trying to build schemes such as small-scale hydros or small wind turbines, only have a few weeks to attract investors before they lose out on the promise of 50 per cent or 30 per cent tax relief on their stake.
Government forced into wind farm rethink after Lords rejects subsidy closure
The bill will return to the House of Commons, where the government is likely to reinsert the clause, Clark predicted. However, Ministers may have to include a number of concessions relating to the grace period conditions and planning permission to ensure it passes in the House of Lords at the next reading.
German 2016 green power surcharge at 6.354 cents/kWh -grid firms
A surcharge levied on German consumers to support renewable power will rise 3 percent next year, despite government efforts to scale back support for green power, a statement from the country's network operators (TSOs) showed on Thursday. ...A household using 3,500 kWh per year would have to pay 222.39 euros towards the EEG alone in 2016, 3 percent more than this year, retail portal Toptarif said.
Ending wind farm subsidy scheme will save households 30p, Government estimates
But despite industry outcry at the changes, official impact assessments reveal most of these turbines were not expected to get built in time for the original 2017 closure of the scheme anyway. Just 200 megawatts – about 80 turbines or fewer – have actually been blocked as a result of the early closure, the Department of Energy and Climate Change estimates.
Plans for giant UK offshore wind farms reconsidered
In the UK this August, two massive offshore wind developments were thrown into tumult. ...The Crown Estate plans to have at least 10 GW of offshore wind capacity in the water by 2020. Industry observers aren’t as optimistic, pointing out that the UK’s new Conservative government has announced plans to end its renewables obligation support for onshore wind by April 2016
Northern Ireland wind energy subsidy to end year early
The current subsidy system for on-shore wind energy in Northern Ireland is set to end next April, a year earlier than planned. ...However, he said that changes in UK policy now mean that keeping it until 2017 would impose extra costs on consumers.
Renewable industry seeks EU investment protection
They are asking for a legal instrument to provide investment protection against sudden subsidy cuts. The commission's financial department is currently considering setting up an arbitration mechanism for resolving investment disputes at EU-level. This would replace bilateral investment protection treaties struck mainly between EU members and then candidate countries in central and eastern Europe in the 1990s.
Saundby wind farm plans scrapped after subsidy blow
Another wind farm planned on Bassetlaw land has bitten the dust after the Government pulled a subsidy scheme from under developers. Plans for six turbines on land near Saundby that many residents feared would over-industrialise the Trentside landscape have now been shelved.
Rooftop solar panels to lose '£3,840' payout in drastic cull to green subsidies
Householders planning to install solar panels will receive 87pc less in subsidy payments as ministers attempt to halt a £1.5bn overspend on renewable energy. The Government consultation published today follows the recent axing of a £540 million taxpayer-funded scheme, the Green Deal, which gave out loans and cash for energy-efficient home improvements.
Ran out of puff? Lack of breeze will see lights DIMMED under wind-powered National Grid
Lights could be dimmed and kettles take longer to boil under a future National Grid reliant on wind powered technology. Trials have been held in the North-West of England, which has seen the voltage to homes turned down at periods when the breeze dies down.