RSPB bids UK support for ‘deep water’ renewables

Illustration (Photo: RSPB)
Illustration (Photo: RSPB)

 
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has called for a renewed commitment by the UK Government to renewable energy on the closing day of the consultation on whether the support for renewable energy projects should continue beyond 2020.

Although the UK Government has recently cut support for onshore wind and solar, it has indicated it will provide further support for offshore wind and potentially other less established technologies like wave and tidal, RSPB said in its call to UK government to support renewable energy projects post 2020.

RSPB has welcomed the proposal to formally extend the Government’s powers to fund renewable energy into the 2020s, highlighting the need to boost investor confidence in the UK as a good place to do business for renewable energy.

The charity said it supports large-scale expansion of carefully-planned renewable energy across the UK, and does not object to over 90% of sites, as opposed to renewable energy proposals where they are expected to have unacceptable wildlife impacts.

Melanie Coath, RSPB Senior Policy Officer, said: “The RSPB is clear that continued Government support for carefully-planned renewable energy into the 2020s is critical to the UK’s long-term energy strategy. There is also an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of innovative technologies like floating wind turbines, if we seize the opportunity now, and make sure we invest in understanding the impacts of those technologies so they can be rolled out in harmony with nature.”

As reported earlier, the now dissolved UK Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) launched in July this year consultations on amending the 2014 Contracts fof Difference (CfD) regulations to enable future allocation rounds for renewable energy projects.