Written question asked by Tom Greatrex (Labour) on Thursday, 8 May 2014, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 13 May 2014 (named day). It was answered by Michael Fallon (Conservative) on Tuesday, 13 May 2014 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Electricity

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether all independent renewable energy generators will have agreed project terms with their financiers at the time of submitting a Contracts for Difference auction bid.

Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring that a broad range of developers and projects are able to access the CfD, and is introducing the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) to guarantee independent renewable generators a route to market and improve their ability to raise project finance. Ultimately the financing of individual projects is a matter for developers. Projects applying for CfDs will be at different stages of development, including the extent to which they have engaged with and/or agreed terms with financiers. However, the CfD offers a number of important advantages over the renewables obligation, including providing developers and their financiers with the certainty of a private-law contract which will be awarded to successful projects years ahead of the point at which some projects can accredit under the renewables obligation.

Secondary information