Investment in clean energy in the UK is in decline amid Brexit uncertainty, according to a new report.
EY’s latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index revealed that investment has fallen 46% year-on-year in the country due to speculation surrounding the EU exit process.
The UK has dropped from seventh to eighth in the index, which ranks 40 countries on the attractiveness of investing and deploying renewables.
The index also revealed that uncertainty over the deployment of charging infrastructure and uptake of Electric Vehicles is discouraging investors, despite EVs being set to reach price and performance parity with fossil fuelled cars by the mid 2020’s.
However, a recent report from Aurora Energy Research found that high EV deployment will increase capture prices for renewables enabling greater deployment.
Renewable Energy Association policy and external affairs director James Court said: “The pipeline of projects for renewables in the UK has greatly slowed due to the government’s continued overhaul of renewable energy support mechanisms and the government themselves recognise that we are not on course to meet our legally binding carbon budgets.
“The UK has leading expertise in the development and deployment of renewables and as such could be a key growth market for the UK after Brexit – if these opportunities are to be realised then renewed confidence through long term stable energy policy needs to be delivered now.
“This report is right to highlight the opportunities arising from EVs for the UK’s renewable energy sector – our research indicates that more EVs with ‘smart charging’ can support variable power deployment such as solar. ‘Co-locating’ assets, such as a battery and solar carports, can also significantly reduce costs for larger-scale EV charging hubs as well as benefit those looking to charge their EVs at home”.