Government considered an obstacle to renewable investment

The renewable energy sector is full of opportunity, though the government is seen by many as a barrier rather than an enabler of development, according to a survey.

Business advisory firm Deloitte carried out the survey of industry professionals, which revealed that 35 per cent feel the government is the biggest obstacle to increasing renewable energy generation capacity in the UK.

Jenny Harrison, Deloitte director responsible for the renewable energy assurance practice, said: "There is enormous potential for the renewable energy industry and the conversion of these opportunities into reality is key. Technical capabilities, financial strength and management of scale are just some of the elements necessary to making renewable energy a viable option."

She added that there had been a record amount of mergers and acquisition activity in the sector, though supply chain constraints "will have an impact on opportunities".

Over a quarter of respondents (27 per cent) said the government should focus on carbon pricing and 26 per cent said it needed to pay more attention to demand management initiatives.

Deloitte partner Robin Cohen said that the government faced challenges in incentivising investment.

He also noted that countries where feed-in tariffs have been applied have had a greater rate of growth in renewable generation.

Switzerland has recently joined Germany, France and Spain in paying renewable energy generators for every kWh of electricity generated.

The country has proposed some of the highest tariffs in the world, with a special tariff for wind turbines of under 10 kW.