New research published recently shows that Britain’s energy regulators are putting billions of pounds of green infrastructure investment at risk by overseeing an energy market which favours EU energy imports at the expense of home-grown schemes.(Logo quoted from RenewableUK’s website)

Electricity generators in the UK pay transmission charges for the cost of building and maintaining the network, set by the regulator Ofgem and ultimately paid by consumers as part of their bills.

New analysis by RIDG (Renewable Infrastructure Development Group), a member company of RenewableUK, highlights the stark anomalies in how electricity generators access the GB market – with operators in Germany, France and the Netherlands able to export energy significantly cheaper than projects in the UK, because they pay very low transmission charges, or none at all.

As a result, the UK risks becoming a net importer of renewable energy in the decades ahead, despite having the best wind energy resource in Europe which should, with the right regulations in place, be used to drive export-led growth.

Although the Prime Minister is focussed on levelling up economic opportunities for all parts of the country in a Green Industrial Revolution, this analysis shows how Ofgem is overseeing a system which favours investment in the south of England and the EU.

The analysis shows that on average, EU generators pay £0.46 per megawatt hour (MWh) in transmission system charges, while in Scotland the average is £6.42/MWh this year. Move to the windy north of Scotland and the price spikes to £7.36/MWh, with prices forecast to rise further still.

(IRuniverse)

Related articles