TEESPORT operator PD Ports has renewed calls for clearness in the Government’s renewable energy policy and in particular how the sector will be funded.

Jerry Hopkinson, Managing Director of Bulks Ports and Logistics at PD Ports, which manages Teesport and the Port of Hartlepool, told The Northern Echo he was keen to get some “absolute clarity” on how the subsidy regime would work in the future.

PD Ports is a founder member of Chain Reaction, a group that has been looking build a cluster of excellence in the area in respect of the renewable energy sector.

The sector is in a state of flux with the Government looking to move from the current system of support called Renewable Obligation Certificates, which require suppliers to prove that a certain amount of their energy  comes from renewable sources, to a new regime called ‘Contracts for Difference’.

This will provide long-term contracts ensuring stable and predictable incentives  for companies to invest in low-carbon generation.

Meanwhile, the Government’s Energy Bill, which aims to reform the electricity market and which will provide a legislative framework for providing secure, affordable and low carbon energy, is unlikely to become law until the end of the year.

It has already been carried over from the previous Parliamentary session.
Mr Hopkinson said: “The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has been making some tremendous strides, but doubts remain which are continuing to stall the progress that the region is looking to make and the potential for jobs and opportunities.

“For companies making  investment decisions worth tens if not hundreds of millions of pounds we need to make sure that the subsidy regimes on the green sector are going to be in place and fixed for the full duration.”

Mr Hopkinson spoke to Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umanna to express his concerns during his visit to Teesport on Friday.

He also told Mr Umunna that better rail links were needed to give PD Ports more flexible solutions for its customers.

The Port of Hartlepool has positioned itself as a centre of excellence for European wind energy markets.

Companies based there include JDR Cables, a world-leader in the manufacture of offshore wind turbine cables.

The group Renewable UK said planned changes being made by the Government would cut the length of financial support for offshore wind farms from 20 to 15 years.

Its deputy chief executive Maf (corr) Smith said the industry was waiting for the Government to announce details of its offshore industrial strategy to see what long-term signal it sent.

He added: “Each month we see another part of the policy jigsaw, but we are also seeing that the Government risks undermining confidence by scaling back on its ambitions.”

A spokesman for DECC said a lot of work was being done in respect of the new subsidy regime and pointed to a number of renewable energy development s which had been given the go-ahead in recent months.