Already the most heavily subsidised ‘industry’ on earth, the wind industry is in need of much more of the same. This time, as Dr John Constable explains below, it’s about politics. [Note to Ed: the renewables scam has always and everywhere been about pure politics]
Apparently, wind power outfits have been choosing turbines, associated kit and infrastructure made in (low energy cost) China, rather than (exorbitant energy cost) Britain. The response is, you guessed it, more subsidies to compensate rent seekers for being forced to use higher-priced inputs.
Yet more subsidies for renewables
Net Zero Watch
John Constable
21 May 2024
The UK government has finally cottoned on to the fact that the hugely lucrative income-support schemes for renewables have been encouraging the import of components manufactured overseas, in countries such as China, with embarrassingly high levels of embedded emissions. Rising costs in the UK, partly caused by renewables subsidies themselves, are in large part to blame.
But rather than admit that the whole green subsidy project, which has been running for over twenty years, is a counterproductive mistake, the UK government is in the process of bribing renewables developers to use a higher share of British goods and services by introducing major capital grants to offshore wind projects that promise to develop local, ‘low-carbon’, supply chains. Only offshore wind will be eligible. This scheme, called the Sustainable Industry Award, is outlined in legal form in the recently published draft ‘Allocation Framework’.[1]
The Impact Assessment for the scheme estimates that the cost of these subsidies will be about £200m a year, drawn from consumer energy bills, but the draft Allocation Framework makes it clear that the Secretary of State has the option of increasing the budget to meet offshore wind targets, so this is effectively an unbounded spending commitment. The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero will simply spend what it takes to meet the targets, and if the eventual cost to consumers is two, three or ten times the current estimate, no one should be surprised.[2] It is important, therefore, that pressure is put on government to ensure that these new subsidy costs are included by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in their table of green levies published as part of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
But this is not the end of the bad news for the energy consumer. In effect the Sustainable Industry Award legislation will make it a legal requirement of bidding for a Contract for Difference that any offshore wind project has undertaken to make provision for local, and low-carbon supply chains, even if it is not actually successful in its application for Sustainable Industry Reward support. Put another way, the UK government is now making it a legal requirement that renewable energy developers applying for subsidy use a substantial share of British goods and services.
This is not only an implicit admission of failing industrial policy but will have the important consequence of increasing the cost of new offshore wind, already extremely expensive, still further. We can therefore expect continuing pressure from the wind industry to increase the guaranteed prices offered in the CfD scheme, with the threat that if more consumer funds are not made available then the Net Zero targets will not be met.
This is a tangled mess, typical of ad hoc attempts to save a failing policy, and it will be interesting to see if any overseas suppliers are sufficiently aggrieved to challenge these subsidies in the international courts as illegitimate state aid. There would be a pleasing irony in seeing the Chinese government give the UK administration a ticking off for unfair business practices.
Perhaps the most threatening aspect of the Sustainable Industry Award is that the addition of capital subsidies for renewables sets an important new precedent in British environmental policy, one that we can expect the Labour Party to exploit if, as seems likely, it forms the next government and actually carries through its promise of creating a body, Great British Energy, to ‘invest in clean energy across our country- for example by making the UK a world leader in floating offshore wind.’[3]
With the UK government now subsidising developmental expenditure, capital expenditure, and topping up the income of offshore wind one begins to wonder whether the Labour Party will declare that these are actually so derisked by the public purse that they are in fact state investments, and on that basis nationalise the lot, possibly with only scant compensation.
Tempting though the offer of yet another layer of jam may be, some more prudent private investors may begin to wonder whether the political risk of investments in offshore wind, and indeed in renewables in general, is not becoming unacceptably high.
[3] https://labour.org.uk/missions/clean-energy/
STOP THESE THINGS 
Last night, I had the wildest dream. Picture this:
WINSTON CHURCHILL appeared and cheered our battle against Offshore wind in the State of New Jersey!
@SaveLBIorg and @NJcoast_protect
Churchill bellowed: We shall go on to end NJ Offshore wind, we shall fight France’s EDF Renewables, we shall fight on the sea, with growing confidence and strength, and we shall defend Long Beach Island, NJ from foreign invaders’ aided by President Biden and greedy whores in the Governors Mansions throughout the Northeast of USA.
We shall NEVER SURRENDER to Biden/Murphy’s Offshore Wind tyranny!
Today is the time for you to wake up to the push to industrialize the Atlantic Ocean ecosystem and to prevent the slaughter of marine mammals suffering from this misguided climate policy.
Ah the taxpayer caught again to ensure the industry can survive! Well maybe its time this taxing of the people to ensure overseas and even local companies can provide an intermittent energy supply is cut loose from Governmental failed policies.
Governments and these companies know it is a failed system but refuse to accept the inevitable – power prices going higher and higher for less and less efficient energy production. Not only that but this form of energy production is causing enormous harm to the environment which it was meant to protect.
If Governments cannot see the stupidity of continuing down this path then they should resign letting the people know why – that is that they have been taken for a ride by these companies who are crippling countries and causing unimaginable harm to the environment.
All those who believed so called renewable energy production would save the world for their children’s and grandchildren’s future must face the truth – what they supported was a pipedream and instead of saving the future have caused harm to the present and the future as all the remnants of these turbines etc will be left for future generations to find a way to clean the world of the mess left.
In the meantime land will be spoilt beyond repair reducing the amount for nature to survive.
In this mix we now have to include our oceans as the greedy hand of the industry is pushing its way to destroy them and Governments around the world are ready to assist them with increasing energy costs to their people to give even more subsidies to these companies.
And for all of this WE ARE PAYING, in the form of increased energy costs and subsidies – subsidies which could be better spent in areas such as Education and Health.
Its a NEVER ENDING STORY.
GE aka Geothermal Energy is the logical preferred option to wind, solar, hydro, coal, gas, or any other electricity option.
GE is well researched and in service in high-tech Japan and is freely available in Australia.