The Government has today given a positive response to the consultation on grandfathering biomass under the Renewables Obligation.

We are delighted to say that this now provides the certainty that investors have been looking for in electricity from dedicated solid and gaseous biomass, energy from waste, anaerobic digestion and advanced conversion technologies such as gasification and pyrolysis. Support will be fixed for 20 years, subject to the 2037 end date of the RO. 

The REA discovery of the grandfathering lacuna in November last year triggered a period of intense effort on the part of the REA policy team and from key members of the biogas and other groups. We also thank all those who have contributed to this excellent result, which should restore confidence in AD project development. 

The decision document was published alongside the first Annual Energy Statement and a raft of other policy documents and consultations. The REA team is currently working through these and will publish our analysis in detail with tomorrow’s newsletter. 

Renewable Heat Incentive

Although it is now clear that final commitment to the heat incentive will not be given until the comprehensive spending review (20 October), Chris Huhne’s statement made it clear that this is still a priority, and that the Government is ‘fully committed to taking action on renewable heat’. This follows a great deal of lobbying over the past few months and it is clear that the RHI is now a long way further up the Government’s priorities.

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