Inside UK Wind - Keeping on track to meet the 2020 renewable targets?

The ‘Keep on Track!’ project found that while growth in renewable power is currently on course, the growth rate of the renewable heat and transport markets must increase if the UK is to meet the target.Barriers that are deterring deployment of renewable energy across Europe and the UK include issues around the allocation and administration of Contracts for Difference (CfDs), as well as uncertainty over the status of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), for which budgets for 2016-2020 are yet to be confirmed.

The report said industry has also highlighted the government’s cap on biofuels and lack of direction as a considerable barrier to the growth of the renewable transport sector. In order to overcome the barriers, industry has set out several policy recommendations for the renewable heat, power and transport sectors.

For power, this includes a call to fix issues with the administration of CfDs and to ensure favourable solar PV FiT review in 2015. For heat, the RHI should be expanded to 2020 and the government should provide sufficient tariff certainty for projects with long lead times. On renewable transport, government should set a trajectory out to 2020 to reach the 10% RED transport target from the current target of 4.75% by volume, and implement the final decisions taken by the EU on the ILUC proposals.

Keep on Track! involves industry associations from 11 EU countries, including the UK’s Renewable Energy Association. REA chief executive Nina Skorupska (pictured) said: “This report couldn’t be clearer in their conclusion that the UK is underachieving in two of our three renewable energy obligations.

“There continues to be a number of major regulatory and administrative barriers holding back the progress of renewable energy deployment across Europe and the UK, and these must be addressed as a matter of urgency if we are to get back on track towards the 2020 targets.

“Our industry holds the key to meeting these obligations, securing cost-effective green energy and cheaper bills, while also creating thousands of skilled jobs in the process. It’s high time that this potential was unlocked, and we look forward to working with the Government to create a regulatory environment in which renewable energy can thrive.”

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