Will the government’s clean energy policies match its rhetoric?
Chris Huhne sped from his cabinet meeting this morning to address the European Future Energy Forum to send the message to investors that Britain is open for green business.
But will his warm words for the renewables industry and promises of solid government support mean much in tomorrow’s spending review? Not if a report in today’s Guardian is to be believed.
Green groups are worried that one casualty of the autumn spending review will be the “feed-in tariff” that allows anyone generating alternative energy to sell it back to the grid. It’s not that they believe the coalition would scrap it, given their various commitments to the agenda.
But they fear it could be delayed or watered down by Chris Huhne, Lib Dem energy secretary, under pressure from the Treasury. Ditto the Renewable Heat Incentive (a similar payment for producing alternative heat).
One figure from Friends of the Earth tells me that is is “absurd” for the Treasury to be reviewing the scheme given that it’s financed by public consumers rather than the government.
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