Lord Roper
Main Page: Lord Roper (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Lord Roper (LD)
Lord Roper (LD)
My Lords, in moving this amendment in my name and that of my noble friend Lord Jenkin of Roding, I will speak also to Amendment 62, which is in my name and that of the noble Baroness, Lady Liddell, and to Amendment 64, which is in my name and that of the noble Lords, Lord Jenkin of Roding and Lord Cameron, and the noble Baroness, Lady Liddell.
Baroness Verma
My Lords, I thank my noble friends Lord Roper and Lord Jenkin, and the noble Baroness, Lady Liddell, for their amendments on the issue of route to market for independent renewable generators. Taken together, these amendments would place the Secretary of State under a duty to ensure that: a PPA scheme is in place by the time the first contracts for difference are allocated; the terms of PPAs under the scheme are demonstrably viable for eligible electricity generators and will enable them to borrow money on reasonable terms; eligible generators can obtain a PPA under the scheme within seven days; and that all generators eligible for a CFD are eligible for a PPA under the scheme.
I am grateful to noble Lords for the opportunity to clarify the Government’s intentions, which are very much in keeping with the spirit of these amendments. I assure the House that, as my right honourable friend Michael Fallon has said, the Government are committed to consulting on the introduction of an offtaker of last resort mechanism, and that they intend, subject to consultation, a scheme to be in place by the time the first CFDs are signed. That will give generators and investors the certainty that they need to make investment decisions. However, it would not be appropriate to place the Secretary of State under a duty to establish a scheme by a particular date before the final policy design has been completed and consulted upon.
The Government are also committed to ensuring that the mechanism is viable for eligible independent generators, which should enable generators to borrow money on reasonable terms. However, the Government cannot guarantee that, since access to finance and the viability of the scheme for individual generators are affected by a variety of factors that are out of our control. We also fully intend that those generators which need to access a PPA under the scheme will be able to do so quickly and simply via a transparent and fair process.
It is important that the scheme is targeted at those generators which genuinely need to access it. The scheme may not be suitable or necessary for all CFD-holding technologies, so we do not judge that it is appropriate for this to be required in primary legislation. I also assure the House that the Government intend to grandfather the terms of PPAs under the scheme, including the level of discount, from the date a generator signs its CFD.
I met with the Independent Renewable Energy Generators Group last week to reassure it on these points. It confirmed that it believes that the offtaker of last resort is a viable solution to its concerns, subject to the final decision—sorry; subject to the final design. The details of the offtaker of last resort mechanism will be specified in secondary legislation following consultation early next year, so it is not appropriate at this stage to set them out in the Bill. I reassure noble Lords that we aim to have secondary legislation in force by the time the first CFDs are signed. This is a challenging timetable. It is subject to consultation and parliamentary process. However, this should not have a material impact on generators since they will not need access to backstop PPAs until after projects have been commissioned, which is likely to be several months after signing the first CFD.
Noble Lords also asked when the first CFD allocations will become available. We have already signalled that we intend to consult, possibly in the early new year, and aim to have secondary legislation in force by the time of the first CFD. I hope that I have reassured noble Lords that the Government’s intention is to ensure certainty for smaller generators. We want to see greater competition. We believe that the measures we are taking and the mechanisms we are using are the right ones. I hope that the noble Lord will find my explanations reassuring and will therefore agree to withdraw his amendment.
Lord Roper
I am grateful for the support my amendment has had from all parts of the House. I am also grateful that the Minister has listened to what has been said and, indeed, made some reassuring comments. I am certainly reassured to a significant extent. She said that she wished to act in keeping with the spirit of the amendment and I am happy about that. I also understand the constraints imposed upon her by the consultation. However, I return to one of the points I made in introducing the amendment and that comes back to a phrase she used, which I hope I understood. She said initially the final “decision” and then moved on to say the final “design”. I believe that she meant the final design; that is, not whether or not there will be an offtaker of last resort but how it will work—the design for such an offtaker.
Lord Roper
My Lords, that is indeed a very reassuring statement. It suggests that the Government are moving in the direction that we wish. I suspect it means we will not need to return to this at Third Reading. We have had some useful assurances today and, on the basis of that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.