Extracts from NATTA's journal
Renew, issue 159 Jan-Feb 2006

1. Giving and taking

RO could be cut for Land-fill gas? And wind?

The government could reduce the level of financial support via the Renewables Obligation for some onshore wind farms without making them unattractive investments, according the OXERA, the energy consultancy. Similarly, some landfill gas projects would remain economically viable with reduced levels of eligibility for Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs), although the minimum levels of support would depend on project specific factors such as size and location of project. “The general principle behind reducing the duration or total level of ROC eligibility for low-cost projects is that this would increase the efficiency of the RO by reallocating some of the ‘unnecessary’ support provided to these projects to other, more marginal, projects, thereby increasing the total volume of renewable generation being developed,” the report concludes, and the DTI seems minded to try that out at last for landfill gas projects , with a ‘tapered support’ system being proposed in its new RO consultation paper.  So it may end up looking like the German REFIT support system!  More on that in Renew 160.

£30m for Low Carbon Buildings programme

On Nov 3. the DTI announced a £30m Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) funding package, over three years, to replace the now closed Major Photovoltaic Development & Clear Skies programmes. It also said that it would also bring forward £1.5m to help during the change over. There was a strong emphasis on projects in schools. Initial reactions, e.g. from the Renewable Power Association, were that £30m over 3 years was rather low.  More in Renew 160.