‘It’s Now or Never for Renewable Energy Projects in the UK’ Says Expert

Nigel Billingsley, Partner at Bruton Knowles, urges the Labour Government to continue commencing renewable energy projects despite trade pressures from US tariffs on all countries outside of Mexico and Canada. President of the United States, Donald Trump, believes they will boost American manufacturing and protect jobs.

Initially, the UK faced a 10% tariff on exports to the United States, with certain sectors – including steel, aluminium, and automotive – subject to even steeper duties of up to 25%. However, the recent UK-US trade agreement will lower the tariff on cars to 10% and completely remove the extra charge on steel and aluminium, up to a certain quota.

Nigel has cautioned that tariffs could still set the UK’s infrastructure projects back at a time in which the Government has been focused on speeding up the planning permission to get these developments underway.

“Not long ago, the Government introduced the Planning and Infrastructure bill with the goal of streamlining the planning process and removing unnecessary barriers to development to get Britian building again.

“However, these tariffs are going to create an adverse effect when it comes to meeting these goals. Not only do they still remain on some materials used in building, but we cannot foresee whether the tariffs will once again rise. This creates a huge amount of economic uncertainty, not just in the UK but globally, reducing the chances of people investing their money.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, published by the Government at the beginning of March, is central to its plans for building 1.5 million UK homes per year. The bill also showcased Labour’s commitment towards accelerating the delivery of clean and renewable projects, as they continue to aim for net zero by 2050.

Despite this, Nigel warns of the effect that the increased tariffs might have on the green energy sector: “We are seeing a trend at the moment, where a lot of big companies such as BP and Shell are scaling back on their renewable energy investments to prioritise their profits. The current situation regarding tariffs and the United States government’s lack of support for renewable energy may cause this to happen more in the UK and other countries across the globe.

“Because Tariffs are causing a hike in prices, companies may decide that they cannot justify the amount they are investing into renewable energy. This may have been what led to Danish energy company, Orsted, cancelling the plans for a windfarm off the coast of East Yorkshire, which was ultimately a big setback for the Governments clean energy goals.

“Pushing on with our green energy efforts is truly a one in a generation opportunity and we need to remember that. Historically, we have missed getting the correct technology in place early on, like when Government policies towards onshore wind caused its growth to slow down in 2010. If we keep moving forward with it now, we will reap the benefits in the next 10 years. I urge the Government to take action and keep these renewable energy projects progressing.”