The UK government on Friday set out proposals to reform planning consent criteria and the flagship scheme for awarding renewable projects, aiming to fast-track clean energy rollout as Britain targets clean power by 2030.
The government is seeking input by March 21 in the consultation on proposals to provide greater certainty to investors and a better deal for consumers. The government response to the outcome of the consultation is expected ahead of the 7th allocation round of the flagship Contracts for Difference scheme later this year.
The proposed reforms include relaxing the eligibility criteria on planning consent for fixed-bottom offshore wind; changing how offshore wind budgets are set and published; and increasing the Contracts for Difference contract term beyond the current 15 years.
The proposal to remove barriers to planning consent is expected to bring new clean power faster, the UK government said.
The UK already has 30.7 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind either installed or committed, with a further 7.2 GW of capacity consented.
However, the government’s target capacity is in the range of 43 GW to 50 GW needed for clean power by 2030.
“These reforms will enable the UK to go further and faster to secure its position as a clean energy superpower,” the cabinet said.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said, commenting on the proposed reforms, “Our bold new reforms will give developers the certainty they need to build clean energy in the UK, supporting our mission to become a clean energy superpower and bring down bills for good.”
The UK energy regulator, Ofgem, is also proposing reforms to fast-track clean energy deployment. Ofgem proposes to remove so-called ‘zombie’ projects from the queues to hook up to the grids.
Ofgem is currently seeking feedback on proposed changes to the grid connection policy from a first-come first-served approach to prioritizing projects where generation capacity is needed the most and projects are at a more advanced stage of development. The regulator looks to reform the current connections regulation which has become inadequate as some early-queued projects have fallen behind schedule while more advanced projects are waiting for years to connect to the grid.
