UK governments snookered themselves by passing the Climate Change Act. Now when the green lobby says ‘jump!’ all they can do is say ‘how high?’ They’ve given themselves no other option.
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Net Zero Watch says Claire Coutinho’s decision to award huge price increases to renewables operators is a wholesale surrender to green lobbyists.
— Generators awarded large and open-ended price increases to new offshore wind, with a minimum 66% increase.
— Government has offered further handouts contingent on delivery of a ‘low carbon supply chain’ and ‘social benefits’
— This can only increase costs to consumers, who should expect hefty increases in bills
Campaign group Net Zero Watch has ridiculed energy minister Claire Coutinho’s claim that handing a 66% price increase to windfarm operators is part of her plan for ‘bringing bills down for families’.
Net Zero Watch director Andrew Montford said:
Poor Claire Coutinho has only been in the job for a few weeks, and her civil servants have already made her look foolish. The idea that you can double prices paid to generators and at the same time reduce electricity bills is simply preposterous.
Net Zero Watch’s statement comes after Coutinho announced an astonishing round of price increases, with offshore wind offered 66%, floating offshore wind 52%, geothermal 32%, solar 32%, and tidal 29%. The prices for some of these technologies are now up to six times higher than long-term market averages.
Since Contracts for Difference are index linked, claims that these increases address recent inflationary effects are simply implausible. As work by numerous researchers has shown, the renewables industry in general and the offshore wind industry in particular has been less than candid about its true capital and operating costs, and the earlier low bids in the CfD auctions were a market positioning and PR gesture that did not reflect the true cost of generation.
We have long predicted that the wind industry would be back with its begging bowl. It is disappointing in the extreme that government has betrayed consumers by giving in to this blackmail.
Worse still, the 66% increase is a minimum: government is offering windfarm operators ‘more money’ ‘if they reduce carbon emissions in their supply chains and demonstrate positive social impact on communities’. How much money is not specified, leaving the cost to consumers and taxpayers open-ended.
And Mr Montford has slammed Whitehall officials for misleading the public over renewables costs, and has warned that consumers should expect hefty price increases.
Full press release here.
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
Aye, Just listening to Jacob RM talking about Gov and the judiciary, and how Gov CAN CHANGE aka modify the law, … If I understood him properly …
So what’s stopping them? Aha, or er emm read something about Broon Envelopes again.
Will Rogers’ observation still apply today: “With Congress — every time they make a joke it’s a law. And every time they make a law it’s a joke.”
As I said before, the renewables industry has the government over a barrel. They need renewables and so will pay whatever it takes.
What the idiots we have in all parts of government don’t seem to understand or have forgotten is that decarbonising is not supposed to be something you do AT ANY COST. It’s supposed to be costs today to avoid costs tomorrow. If costs today are far higher than we thought, we shouldn’t do it. The only justification for renewables is economic.
They are just hiking up the cost of our so called “free energy” to the wind farm operators and their rich ilk.
At some stage there will be a public explosion of anger and (will luck) many politicians and top public servants will lose their seats.
They aren’t doing their jobs and cannot see that the public cannot supply an endless source of money.
PER CENT Per cent percent …. but production? at 3/4 of recent maximum
demand, Wind can only supply around 39% this now …. BUT we have NO WIND here. Hmm, Kwik, sign up for amazon PRIME for free next
day delivery ( Maybe even same day) Well, think of it this way, NO Power and ALL that FREE still air, Just get a windmill. small ones are cheap bla bla bla …. Just ask the Heron, – if you can find him ( he she it they them ) standing by the fishless pond in the fog again – this past long week.
Oh! Zat right? Heron can’t see the non-fish shoal for the FOG? Hmm WEll I can’t see the Power for the lack of wind, or are the Pylons getting in the way like not seeing the wood for the trees?
I’ve got a Jerry Can in my hand, what was that for ? Ah! Clue is on the Key(fob) …. Jenny ?