We know that during the coalition years the Liberal Democrats ensured subsidies for onshore wind. The Guardian managed to give precisely 2 and a bit lines at the bottom of their report to Ed Davey. He was the Energy and Climate Change Secretary who fought tooth and nail to protect renewables, but there’s no mention of that. Ed is quoted as saying:
Anti-wind power Tories will put up electricity bills, cut green jobs and reduce investment.
Alistair Carmichael also took the Tories to task for what he called a “lamentable sop to the Tory right.”
This is full-throttle Tory energy policy.
Their decision to end the renewables obligation for onshore wind is a backwards step for the UK’s energy mix.
It is a lamentable sop to the Tory right-wing who would sooner have us concede the battle on climate change than commit properly to renewables. This blinkered and outdated view of the world is bad news for the environment, but it is also bad news for jobs and investment.
In coalition government Liberal Democrats blocked these madcap Tory ideas. In opposition, we will lead the campaign against them.
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6 Comments
It’s difficult to get a clear picture of what is going on, most stories mention subsidies, not the renewables obligation which is a market balancing mechanism.
Basically this is a policy driven by prejudice and small mindedness.
They are real hypocrites for complaining now. They campaigned for Scotland to stay in the union. This is a consequence of what they campaigned for. The withdrawal of £3bn pounds of support for Scottish onshore wind is part of the unacceptable price we have to pay for being in the union.
They scaremongered that Scotland would lose this money if it became independent…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/10751780/Ed-Davey-Scottish-independence-will-add-hundreds-of-pounds-to-energy-bills.html
The reality is clear now, that the withdrawal of £3bn pounds of support for Scottish onshore wind is part of the unacceptable price we have to pay for being in the union.
Westminster was even prepared to reverse devolution to prevent Scotland pursuing an environmentally friendly energy policy. It was on Lib Dem Ed Davey’s watch that the UK Government used a last minute amendment to the UK energy bill in 2013 to strip the Scottish Parliament of its discretion in the area of renewable energy…
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0043/00437662.pdf
It is clearer than ever that the only way to secure support for renewable energy and to pursue a sustainable, environmentally friendly energy policy in Scotland is through independence from Westminster.
Off -shore wind is more expensive, but subsidies continue. This puts a price on the view.
At conference I asked Ed Davey about the prospect for North African solar, which GreenPeace had failed to mention, with an inter-connector to Spain, Portugal or Gibraltar. Ed Davey said that the French were against.
I do not recall him saying why, but perhaps questions should be asked about nuclear energy generation in France.
Sorry to be so critical in this comment, but this must be the same Ed Davey and Alistair Carmichael who were all things to all people when it came to renewables, fracking, supporting the oil industry when prices dipped…. It’s a bit late now.
I doubt I am the only person who supports renewable energy in all its forms because it doesn’t heat up the planet. Subsidies are only relevant in creating the conditions for building a new industry, and the Lib Dem that did that was Chris Huhne.
The truth is that without lucrative subsidies no one in their right mind would install wind turbines to power the national grid. Sadly, poor consumers have to suffer higher bills while rich land owners and wind farm developers become very wealthy.
William Hobhouse makes a very valid point.
If Ed Davey, whilst secretary of state , had spent less time and effort on guaranteeing subsidies for new nuclear he could have achieved more on renewables.
As William Hobhouse says — it is a bit late now.