Government policy to end new subsidies for onshore wind farms could see residential energy customers pay £500m more for electricity, warns Citizens Advice.
The consumer group says that excluding subsidies for onshore wind, one of the cheapest renewable technologies in the UK, will reverse cuts made to energy bills and stop attempts to reduce harmful emissions.
It wants the focus to be on supporting more established renewable technologies like solar and onshore wind to bid for the entire subsidy budget, which could save consumers £1bn in a single Contracts for Difference auction round.
The report, Generating Value?, warns that removing onshore wind from CfD auctions could lead to more expensive technologies being used instead, adding up to £500m over the 15-year period of subsidy contracts, equivalent to £30m a year.
Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: “Households are already struggling with high energy bills.
“To lower this burden the Government needs to make the most of consumers’ money invested in renewables – this means using the cheapest technologies available.”
The Renewables Obligation to onshore wind development is shut from April 2016 and plans to change the CfD scheme so that it no longer subsidises onshore wind farms will be finalised this autumn.
Citizens Advice thinks that unless solar power sees cost reductions and can be developed to fill the gap left by blocking onshore wind, customers will pay more.
It wants onshore wind to remain eligible for ‘subsidy free’ contracts by cutting the cap on the price they receive to the same level as new gas projects.
Image: Onshore wind farm (MorgueFile)
Onshore cuts ‘raise bills by £500m’
Citizens Advice says solar and onshore should receive subsidy support
By EBS