The UK Energy Bill 2015 – Update 4

DECC releases its Impact Assessment on the closure of the Renewables Obligation for onshore wind

The Government is committed to delivering on its manifesto pledge of ending new subsidies for onshore wind projects by closing the window on the Renewables Obligation (RO) to new onshore wind from 1 April 2016 (a year earlier than planned). The proposed amendments to the Electricity Act and the Renewables Obligation Closure Order necessary to bring this pledge into effect (contained in the Energy Bill) was debated before the House of Lords on 14 September 2015, although industry remains concerned that an amendment to clarify grace period qualifying criteria has not yet made it to the debating room floor. Shadowing the passage of the Bill, the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) published its Impact Assessment (IA) on the RO closure on 8 September 2015 (available here).