The report finds that £3 billion has been invested into the south west renewable energy industry, which now provides 14 percent of the electricity supply in the region and supports 12,800 jobs. Over 250 community energy groups have been established, generating 7.4 gigawatt hours (GWh) to date.
Regen SW has also articulated the concern felt by many across the region with regard to the recent round of government cuts.
“The UK led the development of the new energy technologies that powered the industrial revolution” said Merlin Hyman, chief executive, Regen SW. “A new global energy revolution is now in full swing with equally far reaching implications for our economy. Putting the UK in the slow lane of that revolution would be a historic mistake. Regen SW will be working hard, with our members, to make that case.”
Regen SW will be holding a consultation session with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in late September to discuss the forthcoming review of Feed-in Tariffs (FiTS). This will probably be held in Exeter. The main DECC consultation is likely to begin in late August, lasting for around eight weeks. The consultation will probably be dominated by discussions around cost control, particularly the forecasted overspend of the Levy Control Framework (LCF), the budget for which the government has forecast as reaching £9.1 billion in 2020-21 against a budget of £7.6 billion.
Regen SW is also planning a campaign to highlight the benefits of the tariff which will focus particularly on backbench MPs.
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