Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom has spoken out against claims that the result of the recent European Union (EU) Referendum is deterring investors due to energy policy uncertainty.
Ms Leadsom told the Energy and Climate Change (ECC) Select Committee that Britain’s exit from the EU would not spark a reimagining of UK energy policies.
The Minister also insisted that the Leave vote had not dented investor confidence in the clean energy sector – dismissing doubts cast of late by tech giant Siemens, which recently announced it would freeze investment in the UK’s wind sector, and DONG Energy, which expressed a need for “further clarity” over the future of energy policy.
“In my view, as I was always very clear all the way through the campaign, in energy policy I don’t believe anything will change,” said Ms Leadsom.
Citing the changes to clean energy subsidy regimes as a recent hurdle which investors have overcome, Ms Leadsom spoke optimistically about the industry, insisting that “investors should feel they have a very clear path ahead”.
“I absolutely recognise that the period of time taken to get the costs back under control, get the budgets back under control was an unfortunate period for investors, but I do believe there is a very clear way ahead.
“Our energy trilemma remains the same. We are committed to keeping the lights on, we are committed to decarbonisation at the lowest cost to consumers,” she added.
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