Energy policy
puts wind power funding in doubt
Oct 19, 2005 - The Birmingham Post
Author(s): Victoria Hedley Special Correspondent
LONDON
Doubts about the UK Government's long-term energy policy and
competition from abroad are threatening Britain's wind power industry,
according to consultants Ernst and Young.
The UK has slid from the first to the third most attractive place to
invest in wind power, falling behind the US and Spain.
Five million tonnes of carbon dioxide are released into the
atmosphere as a result of household appliances being left on stand- by
in the West Midlands alone, and rising emissions throughout the UK have
forced the government to rethink its energy policy.
The UK is dependent on an expansion of wind power to help meet
targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, which are widely
blamed for causing global warming.
The first commercial offshore wind farms are in operation and further
projects are planned. Green power schemes are subsidised by the
renewables obligation scheme which will run until 2015, and obliges
suppliers to buy proportion of theirenergy from green sources. However,
the Government's decision not to extend the renewables scheme beyond
2015 has left projects struggling.
Jonathan Jones, of Ernst and Young said: "Offshore wind already faces
rising costs from manufacturers and high grid connection costs but now
the sector could struggle to secure project financing due to cash flow
uncertainty
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