What the Government is doing to secure investment in clean, secure and affordable energy
Today the Energy and Climate Change Committee has published their report on investor confidence.
Today the Energy and Climate Change Committee has published their report on investor confidence. Amber Rudd set out the Government’s position on what course energy policy will take over this Parliament in a speech late last year.
The government’s priority is clear – to ensure our families and businesses have access to the secure, affordable and clean energy supplies they can rely on now and in the future.
To deliver this, long-term decisions are being taken to tackle a legacy of under-investment in the UK’s energy system – creating the right environment for businesses to invest in clean, affordable energy and building an energy infrastructure fit for the 21st century. At the same time action is being taken to keep bills as low as possible to protect consumers and ensure they get value for money, including by being tough on subsidies so that technologies stand on their own two feet.
The top 10 things the government is doing to secure investment in clean secure energy:
- Reforming the Capacity Market, which sends a clear signal to investors that will encourage the secure and clean energy sources we need to come forward – such as gas and interconnectors – as part of our long-term plan to build a system of energy infrastructure fit for the 21st century.
- Committed to the first new nuclear plant for a generation at Hinkley Point C. It will power 6 million homes for 60 years and also provide 25,000 jobs giving the UK economy a huge boost.
- Boosting innovation funding to over £500m, including £250m for nuclear innovation and Small Modular Reactors.
- Confirmed we could support up to 10GW of new offshore wind projects in the 2020s, with a further three auctions in this Parliament if the Government’s conditions on cost reduction are met.
- Set out world leading plans to close all unabated coal-fired power stations by 2025 if we’re confident that the shift to new gas can be achieved within the necessary timescales.
- Allocated £295 million to invest in energy efficiency measures in schools, hospitals and other local public services.
- Introduced a new energy efficiency supplier obligation for 5 years from April 2017 set at £640 million a year - helping more than 1 million homes cut carbon emissions and keep their bills low.
- Committed to more than double the support we give to households and businesses to decarbonise their heating supply in this Parliament (from £430 million to £1.15 billion).
- Allocated over £300 million to deliver up to 200 heat networks in communities, leveraging up to £2 billion in private investment.
- Announced a 50% increase in the UK climate finance commitment to a total of £5.8 billion over the next five years to help the poorest countries cut carbon emissions and adapt to climate change.