Wave Hub, the marine energy project located off the Hayle coast, has welcomed today’s Government proposals to more than double the subsidy available to wave and tidal energy projects.
A long-awaited review of the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) scheme includes a raft of changes to how clean technologies are subsidised.
“The wave energy industry will welcome today’s announcement because it helps close the economic viability gap”
It includes an increase in the number of tradable ROCs awarded to wave and tidal energy projects from April 2013 from two ROCs per megawatt hour currently, to five ROCs per megawatt hour.
Wave Hub general manager Claire Gibson said: “The wave energy industry will welcome today’s announcement because it helps close the economic viability gap, which remains the biggest stumbling block to the commercial deployment of wave devices.
“That’s good news for Wave Hub because it means that device developers can rely on a much more supportive subsidy regime for the electricity they generate once they have a device in the water.”
Chris Huhne, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said wave and tidal were examples of technologies which “desperately need help to reach the market”, which is why support is being increased.
Other more established forms of renewable energy, such as onshore wind, will see subsidies reduced.
The UK Government will consult on the proposed new regime between now and January 12 next year.
The Renewables Obligation was introduced in 2002 in England and obliges UK electricity suppliers to source an increasing proportion of electricity they supply to customers from renewable sources.
Operators of accredited renewable generating stations can then trade the ROCs with other parties, with the ROCs ultimately being used by suppliers to demonstrate that they have met their obligation.
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