The UK Government currently has “no plans” for the future of mature renewable technologies like wind and solar, a new report said.
The Committee for Climate Change’s (CCC’s) guidance report said opportunities were “being missed” due to the lack of future Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions, which the CCC claimed were “essential to secure the high volumes of necessary low-carbon generation at the lowest cost”.
CCC said those opportunities must be sought out to ensure cheaper energy for consumers.
The CCC said: “Low-cost mature renewable technologies (i.e. onshore wind and solar) are the cheapest generation options and their deployment would help to cut energy bills. However, the Government currently has no plans to run further auctions for Contracts for Difference for mature technologies, which are essential to secure the high volumes of necessary low-carbon generation at the lowest cost.”
The CCC said it would like to see alternatives brought forward “in the event of delay or cancellation to current projects, in a timely fashion and without increasing emissions”.
The climate consultancy also suggested the Government should actively investigate the cost reduction potential of emerging low-carbon technologies with “a large potential scale of deployment in the UK”.
