In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Phil Hammond announced that he would allocate £390 million to support BPVs (battery-powered vehicles), other ultra-low emission cars and renewable fuels.
A spokesman for the Renewable Energy Association (REA) – the largest green energy trade body in the UK – welcomed the new funding for BPVs and charge point infrastructure across the UK, but warned:
“We urge him to remember that the development of these transport technologies are not emerging on their own but are part-and-parcel of a wider shift to a higher-tech, lower-carbon world.
“Decarbonising transport through electrification requires the decarbonisation of the electricity system as well.
“The renewable electricity sector was looking for certainty regarding the future of the Levy Control Framework beyond 2021.
“But there was no further clarity on the Government’s plans for the future of the decarbonisation of the heat system.
“Disappointingly, key taxation and spending questions around the increases in business rates for solar PV and future CfD Pot 1 and 3 auctions, for renewables such as onshore wind, solar, advanced waste conversion technologies, and biomass, were also not addressed.”
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