Renewables sector maintains appeal says expert

THE renewable energy sector will continue to expand despite Government cuts to solar panel subsidies, a Midland law firm has said.

Mark Lee, partner in the real estate department at Stratford-upon-Avon-based Lodders, said the reductions were “disappointing” but would not significantly set back progress.

Lodders has a growing niche practice advising clients on the legal requirements involved in renewable power sources such as wind farms and solar.

Headed by the firm’s senior partner David Lodder, it has advised on opportunities to develop ‘sun farms’ – solar power farms – and on leases for such sites.

It has also advised on a number of wind farm proposals.
 
Mr Lee said: “The Government subsidy changes may temporarily hold back the expansion of solar power, both by business and home owners, but renewables overall continue to be driven forward.
 
“According to official figures, more than 10 gigawatts of our electricity capacity is renewable. That’s enough to power six million homes. By Christmas we will have 3GW of biomass installed, and by Easter 5GW of onshore wind.

“To hit our EU renewable energy target, we must generate 30% of our electricity from renewables by 2020. That means a fourfold increase in deployment. So it is not as if the whole market for renewables has somehow collapsed as the furore over the solar power subsidy reductions might have suggested.”

Mr Lee said criticism that subsidies for renewables meant dearer energy was misleading.

Recent electricity prices hikes were generally down to the rising cost of gas, he said. Globally, subsidies for fossil fuels outstripped subsidies for renewables by a factor of five.

“The UK desperately needs a better balanced energy requirement that takes in fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable,” he said.

“Solar, wind and biomass have a massive part to play in the future of power generation. It is good for the environment and, in terms of both job creation and having a more stable, less volatile, energy resource, it is good for the economy.

“Both the Government and public opinion are behind renewables – there remains a huge future for the sector.”

He said greener buildings were becoming increasingly popular and while it was easier and cheaper to incorporate renewable energy systems into new builds, occupiers and investors now had to look at the potential for both generating energy and income from their existing buildings, even at the new rates.

“For example, and where the structure of the roof permits, locating solar panels is particularly applicable to factories and warehouses which tend to have very large expanses of roof space,” added Mr Lee.