The government has announced plans to promote energy infrastructure in the wake of yesterday's spending review.
The speech by chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, included Treasury proposals to promote shale gas extraction through revised planning guidelines and payments to local communities.
“Energy revolution our country needs”
However, Mr Alexander also announced a range of measures aimed at clean energy including strike prices for renewable technologies under the government's new contracts for difference scheme - to kick in in 2017.
It means the prices are published today, a month ahead of schedule. Generators will be guaranteed £155/MWh for offshore wind, falling to £135/MWh by 2018, in line with proposed cost savings as the technology develops. The strike prices will be available from 2014-2019.
Mr Alexander continued: “Expect our reforms to bring 8-16GW of offshore wind capacity forward. When this investment goes alongside our plans for energy efficiency, overall our policies could save on average £166/household by 2020. “
The blizzard of announcements also included an extra £800m for the Green Investment Bank which will still not be able to borrow until after the next general election and measures to build new gas plants through capacity markets to start in 2014.
Capacity auctions will effectively pay gas plant providers to run their plants as a back-up for times of peak demand.
