UK Energy Bill approved with no amendments
The UK’s long-contested Energy Bill was approved by Parliament with no amendments last week.
The adoption of the Bill will see the early closure of the Renewables Obligation (RO) for new onshore wind projects, and local communities will now receive new powers as key decision makers with regards to new developments.
Under the new Bill, local authorities, as opposed to Ministers, will be responsible for consent of onshore wind farms throughout England and Wales.
The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC)’s grace period criteria for wind farms under the early closure of the RO will not be affected.
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Amber Rudd, said: “The Energy Act is a vital part of our plan to ensure our families and businesses have access to secure, affordable and clean energy supplies they can rely on, while keeping bills down.”
“By strengthening the Oil and Gas Authority and giving it powers to drive greater collaboration and productivity in the industry, this Bill shows that the broad shoulders of the UK are committed to helping our oil and gas industry attract investment, support jobs and remain competitive for the future.”
Chief Executive Hugh McNeal added: “The Government has said that in the future the UK’s electricity will be generated by gas, nuclear and renewables and not from coal.
“Onshore wind is now the cheapest of these options.
“With the pain of the Energy Bill finally behind us, we need to look forward and find sensible ways to take advantage of wind power to ensure consumers’ electricity bills are as low as possible.”
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