Britain’s green energy industry has accused the Reform UK party of undermining the national interest by threatening to strip public subsidies for wind and solar projects if it comes to power.
Groups representing Britain’s biggest clean energy investors said the populist party was “putting politics before prosperity” after Reform’s deputy leader gave “formal notice” to major developers that it would axe any deals struck in an upcoming renewables subsidy auction this summer.
The government auction allows developers to bid for contracts-for-difference, guaranteeing them a minimum price for electricity for up to 20 years.
In a letter sent to energy companies including SSE and Octopus Energy, Reform claimed there was “no public mandate for the real-world consequences” of the clean power agenda and said all subsidies would be scrapped.
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of the party founded by Nigel Farage, added that developers seeking a subsidy contract in the upcoming auction would “do so at your own risk” because the party would “seek to strike down all contracts” if it gained power.
“The political consensus that has sheltered your industry for nearly two decades is fracturing,” Tice said.
Industry leaders disputed the claims, saying Reform’s threat risked thousands of green jobs and could push up energy bills for homes and businesses by making the UK more reliant on volatile global gas markets.
James Alexander, the head of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, said: “This letter risks putting politics before prosperity by issuing threats to developers in one of the UK’s fastest-growing industries.
“Investors wholeheartedly recognise these long-term investment opportunities. It is a great shame that some politicians would rather attack the sector instead of seizing the huge potential that it offers.”
The Renewable UK trade association said this month that the number of people working in the offshore wind industry had climbed by a quarter in the last two years, from just over 32,000 to nearly 40,000. It estimated that 74,000 to 95,000 people will be needed to meet the government’s goal of quadrupling offshore wind power production by the end of the decade, with the highest numbers of new jobs expected to be created in Scotland, the east of England, and in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Ana Musat, the association’s policy director, said: “Every recent opinion poll shows that the vast majority of people support the development of renewable energy.
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“New wind and solar farms are not only driving new jobs and investment into places like the Humber, Teesside and Scotland, but generating more power in our own country will ultimately reduce our reliance on gas imports, the price of which is determined by international markets and events.”
Jess Ralston, an analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Arguing against British renewables is arguing for more foreign gas, which will increasingly come from abroad as the North Sea continues its inevitable decline – a geological fact.”
She added that “ripping up long-term policies and changing agreed contracts is likely to destroy the UK’s credibility as a solid place to invest” in clean energy, which would make the UK more exposed to spikes in imported gas prices.