The UK Government has published the Impact Assessment on its plans for the early closure of the Renewables Obligation to onshore wind – a policy which will have a disproportionate impact on Scotland where 70% of all such development in the UK takes place.
Published as part of a suite of documents for the new Energy Bill, the Impact Assessment counts the costs and benefits of the early closure of the Renewables Obligation, despite government still not having published the grace periods for projects that should fall outwith the scope of this policy.
The Impact Assessment shows that:
Lifetime CO2 emissions could be up to 63MtCO2e higher than they would otherwise have been
Under the central estimate, total lost benefit to communities would be around £1m a year
Under the central estimate, there would be around a £0.30 (0.05%) reduction on the average annual household electricity bill
A Scottish Renewables spokesman said: “We have consistently argued that this policy can only hinder the UK’s efforts to meet binding climate change targets, and the government has now admitted their decision could increase the UK’s carbon emissions by 63 million tonnes.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Renewables will be among organisations lobbying the new Westminster Scottish Affairs Committee when it takes evidence on Monday (14 Sept) in Edinburgh.
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