UK Spring Budget disappoints renewables industry

UK Spring Budget 2023 does not create the framework needed to mobilise investment at scale in renewable energy, RenewableUK said on Wednesday after the budget’s release.

Another association, the REA (Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology), said that the budget is a missed opportunity for the UK as the US and EU push forward in attracting low carbon investment.

RenewableUK’s executive director of policy and engagement Ana Musat echoed that comment, saying that a much bigger response is needed to match the incentives being offered to renewable energy developers by the US and the EU. Musat expressed hope that “the Chancellor’s announcements later this month on the UK’s pathway to net zero and energy security will remove the key fiscal and non-fiscal barriers to the growth of the renewables sector.”

“Although we welcome the increase in capital allowance rates, this only lasts for three years and will do little to encourage long-term investment in the UK economy and attract the capital required to build key infrastructure such as ports and our transmission grid,” Musat also said.

“The creation of Investment Zones could enable the expansion of our supply chains, particularly in offshore wind, bringing more industrial benefits to areas like Teesside, but it doesn’t amount to the comprehensive industrial strategy we need urgently,” she added.

The budget includes support for nuclear and Carbon Capture Usage and Storage.

In his budget speech, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed that “subject to consultation nuclear power will be classed as “environmentally sustainable” in our green taxonomy, giving it access to the same investment incentives as renewable energy.”

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