Spending review quells green technology sector anxieties

George Osborne told members of parliament today £200m would be set aside for low-carbon technologies including offshore wind technology and manufacturing infrastructure at port sites.

This put an end to rumours the government might scrap a £60m competition that would involve UK ports bidding for money to rejuvenate their facilities. The investment is viewed as strategically important for the development of the offshore wind industry.

Siemens, General Electric and Mitsubishi indicated their investment in offshore wind turbine manufacturing in the UK was conditional on a ports upgrade.

Osborne’s comprehensive spending review (CSR) also indicated support for the feed-in tariff (FiT) would remain but savings would be made by refocusing it on the most cost-effective technologies, saving £40m in 2014-15. The changes will be implemented at the first scheduled review of tariffs in 2013 unless massive uptake forces the government to carry out an earlier review.

The chancellor also told MPs the government would be putting aside £1bn in funding for the UK-wide Green Investment Bank (GIB) with hopes more funds would be added by the private sector and future government asset sales.