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REA welcomes decision to legislate for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
The UK Government has confirmed that they will be adopting the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendation for net-zero greenhouse gases by 2050. Secondary legislation is due to be introduced shortly.
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Government confirms details and timeline for a Smart Export Guarantee
Government will legislate for a Smart Export Guarantee – mandating most electricity suppliers to offer a tariff that pays homes and businesses exporting renewable electricity by 31st December 2019. REA welcomes this positive step towards a more decarbonised, local, and cheaper power system. Industry concern over lack of ambition in zero-minimum price and no contract length, in addition to delay in introduction following the closure of the Feed in Tariff. Industry supportive of ensuring the policy is linked to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, and that mechanisms are in place to review the scheme should it become apparent that generators cannot access competitive tariffs.
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MHCLG Consultation on Decapitalisation Rates for 2021 Business Rates
REA Response to the MHCLG Consultation on Decapitalisation Rates for 2021 Business Rates
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BEIS Consultation on Designing the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund
REA Response to the BEIS Consultation on Designing the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund
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BEIS Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) Part B Consultation
REA Response to BEIS Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) Part B Consultation
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Labour to fit 1.75 million homes with solar panels as UK solar sets a new generation record
Jeremy Corbyn and Rebecca Long Bailey outline Labour’s plans to reduce energy bills by installing solar panels on 1.75 million homes. This initiative is part of Labour’s Green Industrial Revolution and promises to reduce the energy bills of low-income households by an average of £117 a year. This comes just two days after UK solar generation broke records by providing 26% of the country’s total power output.
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Tax rate hike for domestic Solar, Storage and Biomass Boiler markets contested by industry
A sudden consultation released by HMRC, which closes today, proposes to increase VAT rates for technologies such as solar, biomass boilers, and energy storage. The VAT rate hike from 5% to 20% for many domestic installations will make it more expensive for households to reduce their carbon footprint and further slow deploymentThe hike comes off the back of wider withdrawal of policy support and in the same week the UK Parliament declared a ‘climate emergency’ and the Committee on Climate Change published its report recommending the UK reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050Supplies of coal fuel for home use still receive a reduced 5% VAT rate. The REA has come up with possible solutions in its consultation response and urges government not to proceed with this hike or reclassify solar, biomass boilers and energy storage, to ensure incentives for decarbonising homes are supported.
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CCC confirm that the fall in the cost of renewables will enable ‘net zero’ Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) publish their long awaited report on setting the UK’s long-term emissions targets. The report highlights that the significant decline in renewable energy costs makes this more ambitious target more affordable. REA support report but argue that to secure economic advantages of being a first mover, long-term investable policy is required.
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Finance and Investment in Energy Infrastructure – BEIS Select Committee Inquiry
Finance and Investment in Energy Infrastructure – BEIS Select Committee Inquiry
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BEIS Consultation on the Capacity Market, April 2019
REA Response to BEIS Consultation on the Capacity Market, April 2019
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Renewables in Buildings; Building ‘Power’ful Homes of the Future
Emissions reductions from the UK’s 29 million homes have stalled, while energy use in homes – which accounts for 14% of total UK emissions – increased between 2016 and 2017. Our homes are just not good enough to deal with climate change, the CCC warns in its recent report. Energy nerds realise the low hanging fruit is being picked (decarbonising power), and that we now need to focus on encouraging new sectors (especially construction and transport) to join the renewables transition. The Government’s spring statement highlighted their dedication to decarbonising the buildings sector, so this blog looks to review targets and policy framework, understand what the future homes package looks like, and explore its real value.
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Total energy production from renewables is now nearly 13 times higher than coal
Government data shows that the overall energy output from bioenergy and waste, wind, solar and hydro is now nearly 13 times higher than coal. This comes just seven years after generation from coal was greater. Renewables share of electricity generation was at a record high in 2018 producing 111 TWh with a 33.3% share.
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16MW Solar PV Projects could be “Ghosted” by Government due to FiT deployment cap breach
With the closure of the government support mechanism for microgeneration just 10 days away, the Feed-in-Tariff band for over 50kWp rooftop solar projects has been breached. Ofgem’s weekly capacity updates show that an additional 16MW of projects (which could power over 3300 homes) have been registered, although these risk being “ghosted” by the government scheme due to stringent capacity band caps.
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Energy Efficiency Scheme for Small & Medium Sized Businesses – Call for Evidence
REA Response to Energy Efficiency Scheme for Small & Medium Sized Businesses – Call for Evidence
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Consultation on Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
REA Response to Consultation on Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
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GHG emissions have fallen 42% since 1990 amid Government’s £6m pledge supporting green taxis
New data published today by BEIS has found that total Green House Gas (GHG) emissions have fallen by 42% between 1990 and 2017 with a 38% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.The data also found that between 2016 and 2017, energy supply and the residential sector saw the largest reductions in emissions at 8% and 4% respectively. Further analysis from Carbon Brief has found that without shifts towards renewable power generation and energy-efficiency, carbon emissions could have been double that of the 1990 statistics.
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BEIS release positive proposals on planning for energy storage devices
Earlier today the Government released their Treatment of Electricity Storage Within the Planning System consultation. The proposals will mean that co-located storage and renewables projects in England will not need to go through the time-consuming national planning process if either the capacity of the storage element is less than 50MW or the capacity excluding any electricity storage is less than 50MW. This is an issue that the REA has campaigned for action on over the past few years.
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New Era for solar and decentralised energy as Export Tariff proposals are announced
This morning the Government released their Future for small-scale low-carbon generation: A consultation on a Smart Export Guarantee. Proposals in the consultation include compensation for small-scale generators for the value of their exported electricity, a new framework which allows the market to develop and increasing the role of small-scale generators in a smarter energy system through the use of smart meters and time of use tariffs. The REA campaigned for the introduction of a market based solution such as this in their response to the Call for Evidence on Support for Small Scale Power last year.
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Concern over lack of support for renewable energy industry in Autumn Budget
The Autumn Budget is a missed opportunity for the Government to show their support to the renewable energy deployment and clean growth.
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Consultation on Energy Performance Certificates
REA Response to Consultation on Energy Performance Certificates