Responding to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said: 

“There’s a strong focus in Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on accelerating green industrial growth. His announcement on permanent full expensing will provide a much-needed degree of long-term certainty for investors in green technologies, helping to make the UK an attractive destination for investment in clean energy projects and manufacturing. 

“This combined with the announcement of £960 million for a Green Industries Growth Accelerator to support clean energy manufacturing in the UK will help us to build up new supply chains in Britain at a time when international competition for investment in clean technology manufacturing has never been more intense. The decision to extend tax relief on freeports from five to ten years will help us to revitalise coastal communities by encouraging new investment in offshore wind manufacturing, including factories servicing innovative floating projects. Industry estimates that overall the offshore wind supply chain could boost the UK's economy by £92bn by 2040.  

“We also welcome the Government’s commitments to reform the planning system by offering local authorities financial incentives to make decisions faster, as well as their ambition to cut grid connection delays from several years to six months. We look forward to further key announcements such as the publication in March of more details on next year’s CfD auction which we hope will secure a record annual amount of new clean energy capacity”.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: RenewableUK