Senior figures from the energy and finance industries have declared doubts over the feasibility of building “subsidy-free” renewables at scale without some form of revenue stabilisation. The panelists at an event held by Aurora Energy Research in Oxford questioned the willingness of the private sector to bear the full risks arising from uncertainty over future power prices. Matthew Wright, the UK managing director for Danish renewable developer Orsted, said onshore wind and solar projects are already being built at prices at or below current wholesale market rates. He said offshore wind projects could also achieve this milestone in the upcoming Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction in May. At the same time, Wright said developers and their investors still require some measure of revenue stabilisation to limit their exposure to a future collapse in power prices. Carol Gould, head of power and renewables in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the Japanese bank MUFG, agreed with his assessment. “We don’t mind subsidy-free,” she explained. “But what we need is some stability in project finances… We need at least part of the revenue to be relatively certain to know that there’s a good chance the debt will be repaid.”
Edie 22nd March 2019 read more »
