Renewable energy – such as wind – is only competitive thanks to generous UK Government subsidies. Those subsidies are paid for by consumers through higher household energy bills. The TaxPayers’ Alliance can reveal that, even based on conservative projections, those subsidies will rise from just under £2 billion this year to over £5 billion by 2018/19.
Ministers have claimed that costs will fall over time thanks to greater economies of scale, but the announcement that high subsidies will continue for the foreseeable future suggests that this strategy has failed, despite the transfer of risk from investors to consumers.
Key findings of this research :
Matthew Sinclair, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance , said:
“Targets that require massive investment in the energy sector, to install expensive technologies like offshore wind turbines on an enormous scale, will always mean more profits for energy companies and much higher prices for consumers. If the Government are serious about easing the pressure on people’s living standards, they need to take action and scrap lavish renewable energy subsidies. And it is a joke for Ed Miliband to pretend he is taking on the big six on behalf of consumers, when he is proposing to keep the targets in place. If politicians are serious about helping families struggling with their bills, then they need to do something about their dysfunctional and painfully expensive energy policies.”
[mappress]
Press release, October 7, 2013; Image: Vattenfall