SPONSORS OF LEGAL EAGLES
LEGAL EAGLES
We welcome them as sponsors of our first Law feature and let Martin Collingwood give us an overview to start the ball rolling...
WIND & RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS
Renewable energy has seen significant development in recent months and Andrew Jackson has seen its involvement in renewables continue to increase.
the past year has seen significant activity from central government through consultations, legislation and the issue of strategy documents.
November 2012 saw the Energy Bill published and shortly after the government’s Gas Strategy was delivered. The Renewables Roadmap was also updated.
The cost debate continues to rage concerning the relative cost of the various technologies, whether wind (both on and offshore) and other technologies including nuclear.
WIND ENERGY
ANDREW JACKSON’S EXPERIENCE IN THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR, AND IN PARTICULAR THE WIND ENERGY INDUSTRY, IS SIGNIFICANT AND HAS HELPED MANY OF OUR READERS ENSURE PROGRESS AND UNDERSTANDING IN THIS EXTREMELY FAST MOVING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT.
Whilst the developments in policy gave some comfort there is still uncertainty arising among investors as to how it would all work in practice – the devil will be in the detail as they say.
DECARBONISATION TARGET one of the significant areas of debate remains the absence of a decarbonisation target in the policy proposals. The introduction of such a target is seen by many investors as central to instil confidence in the support mechanism for the industry and create a long term market. The question often asked is “what happens after 2020?” this is important given that the industry is proposing developments which will be operating in the longer term – 20 to 25 years - and investors need confidence that they will have support throughout the period.
RENEWABLES OBLIGATION Coupled with this there is the proposal for change from the Renewables Obligation to Contracts for Difference and no-one is quite sure how that will work – detail again.
In terms of wind power, onshore wind currently is a cost effective technology but there has been significant debate over whether we have enough land based schemes. planning approvals, at least in England, remain difficult, although it would seem the position is more relaxed in Scotland.
There has for many years been great interest in the offshore wind industry and the Round 3 developments promise great potential. From a cost point of view offshore wind remains comparatively expensive and the industry is being tasked with targeting cost reduction at a time when the support mechanism through Contracts for Difference is uncertain. The offshore industry is, in addition, plagued by significant risks in terms of construction, installation and operation all of which it is seeking to minimise by technological advances.
Andrew Jackson continues to act for several offshore developers in respect of development issues and in relation to the roll out of strategically important operating and maintenance facilities and infrastructure to service the offshore industry and the development of onshore wind farms. We have seen an increase in renewables related health and safety work, both pro-active and reactive.
SIGNIFICANT FRUSTRATION One message which is frequently relayed by the supply chain in relation to these projects is “when will it happen?” there is significant frustration over the delay to implementation of projects, particularly offshore projects in Round 3. These delays are, in part, caused by the lack of certainty arising from government policy and the reluctance of investors to commit.
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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