Energy Bill — Onshore Wind Power — Ceasing to Count Towards Renewables Obligation — 9 May 2016 at 19:45

The majority of MPs voted not to relax the imposition of cut-off date after which new on-shore electricity generating wind turbines would cease to be considered renewable energy sources for the purpose of a legal requirement on generators to produce a certain amount of energy from renewable sources.

Section 32 of the Electricity Act 1989 titled: Obligation in connection with electricity from renewable sources enables a Secretary of State to require electricity suppliers to provide certain amounts of electricity generated by using renewable sources during specified periods.

The Energy Bill as proposed stated that in order to count towards the renewables obligation a station or the additional capacity would have to have received planning permission, accepted a grid connection offer and secured land rights by the cut off date.

The proposal rejected in this vote was to allow schemes to count as long as a decision had been made to grant or intend to grant planning permission for a scheme by 18 June 2015.

MPs were considering the Energy Bill^[1].

The motion passed by the majority of MPs was:

• That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 7TB.

The rejected Lords amendment 7TB to Commons amendment 7 stated:^[2]

• Line 179, at end insert
• “, or (e) evidence that—
• (i) an application for 1990 Act permission or 1997 Act permission was made on or before 18 June 2015 for the station or additional capacity,
• (ii) the relevant planning authority or appeal body made a decision on or before 18 June 2015 to grant or to intend to grant planning permission for the station or additional capacity, or made a decision to grant or to intend to grant planning permission for the station or additional capacity subject to the execution of a planning agreement,
• (iii) planning permission was granted after 18 June 2015, and
• (iv) any conditions as to the time period within which the development to which the permission relates must be begun have not been breached, or (f) evidence that—
• (i) an application for 1990 Act permission or 1997 Act permission was made on or before 18 June 2015 for the station or additional capacity,
• (ii) the period allowed under section 43A(8)(c) of the 1997 Act ended on or before 18 June 2015 without any of the things mentioned in section 43A(8)(a) to (c) of the 1997 Act being done in respect of the application,
• (iii) the local review body made a decision before 18 June 2015 to grant or to intend to grant planning permission,
• (iv) 1997 Act permission was granted by the Scottish Ministers after 18 June 2015, and
• (v) any conditions as to the time period within which the development to which the permission relates must be begun have not been breached.”

Commons amendment 7^[3] sought to introduce a new clause titled: "Onshore wind power: circumstances in which certificates may be issued after 31 March 2016".

The amendment is not marked up with line numbers in any of the published materials. Given the context it clearly applies to the proposed new section 32LJ which the clause would have inserted in the Electricity Act 1989. The proposed new clause 32LJ was titled: The approved development condition, the rejected amendment sought to add the additional subclauses under subclause (4) which set out the evidence required that the development had been approved prior to the cut-off date.

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• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Energy Bill
• [2] Amendment paper containing Lords' amendment 7TB
• [3] Amendment paper containing Commons amendment 7

Debate in Parliament |