Wind energy subsidies will end next April
The government has moved forward the end date for onshore wind energy subsidies, it revealed yesterday.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change will close the renewables obligation to new onshore wind generating stations from 1 April 2016.
The Conservatives had pledged to stop the subsidies in their manifesto ahead of the General Election, however the previous deadline set was April 2017.
Analysts at Jefferies said the decision highlighted the lack of future financing for subsidy: “The pot is almost empty and today’s move to cut onshore wind deployment is a further sign of that.”
Meanwhile, Accendo Market’s Augustin Eden pointed to Centrica as a company which stands to benefit from the end to subsidies.
He said “gas loving Centrica has been fighting a war on two fronts”, with cheap oil to contend with and also subsidised renewables: “Shares in Centrica may be flipping the switch from downtrend to uptrend.”
Centrica rose by over two per cent during trading yesterday, closing up by 1.7 per cent.