MPs have warned of “dramatic and worrying collapse” in clean energy investment after the Environmental Audit Committee published a report showing a significant decline in the last years, this year reaching the lowest it has been since 2008.
For the third year in a row, clean energy investment has been suffering a decline reaching the lowest point in 10 years. In 2016 investment fell by 10 per cent followed by 56 per cent last year.
The committee found that the government's Clean Growth Strategy is not doing enough to meet legally binding climate change targets, even if it was to deliver fully on all its policies.
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Andrew Ryan, who is a partner at the law firm TLT, said: “At a political level, we hope the government recognises the importance of clean energy and that it will do all it can to maximise the attractiveness of clean energy to private sector investors.”
“We are seeing the industry transition towards mixed energy schemes and investors are beginning to understand the benefits of mixed-use projects, with the co-location of energy storage with other technologies for example being used to maximise revenue,” he said.
The MPs on the committee blamed the worrying trend on the Conservative-led policies, among them cuts in green energy subsidies.
Chair of the committee and Labour MP Mary Creagh said that billions of pounds were needed if the UK is to meet the carbon targets and called upon the government to find a solution to the problem.
Ryan said that the market was prepared for the decline as subsidies were cut, but also said that clean energy technology was constantly being improved and that the trend will eventually change.
“As a greater number of landmark clean energy schemes come online and the return on investment becomes clear, we can expect investment in clean energy to grow and government initiatives will also carry weight,” Ryan said.
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