Hopes raised that Queen’s Speech will favour waste

Waste leaders have welcomed clarification on key legislation relating to the forthcoming Energy Bill and Green Investment Bank (GIB) outlined in the Queen's Speech today (May 9).


The Energy Bill will look to deliver low-carbon generation by replacing the current support system, the Renewables Obligation, with a Feed-in Tariff with Contracts for Difference (FiT-CfD).

This will have significant implications for the energy-from-waste sector, which is keeping close watch how the reforms will develop.

One waste contractor, Shanks, is emphatic that any reforms should give “full consideration” to the potential of waste as a sustainable source of energy.

Shanks’ UK managing director Ian Goodfellow said: “One waste-derived fuel that is often overlooked is solid recovered fuels. This is a bountiful source of energy that is readily available now.

“If the Government is truly committed to transitioning the UK’s energy supply to low carbon sources, one of the first things it could do would be to reform the regulatory regime so a wider number of industries can make the most of this resource.”

Meanwhile Chris Dow, who heads up Closed Loop Recycling, was optimistic on the Queen’s announcement concerning the legislative timeframe of the GIB, which he believes will be a key mechanism to “shift the log jam in lending to green businesses including those in the recycling industry”.

“There is much pent up demand for some exciting infrastructure projects which, coupled with other measures including a review of the PRN/PERN system, will grow the capacity of the industry,” he said.

Maxine Perella

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