The Prime Minister told a UK national newspaper that he didn’t want to keep subsidies for "a second longer than they're necessary".
Wind energy critics claim that the UK’s Renewables Obligation (RO) which acts as a subsidy to wind farms and other forms of green energy, adds £23 to each household energy bill. The coalition government has already reduced subsidies for wind farms but the Prime Minister’s statement indicates that he could be contemplating making more cuts.
“What we've done in energy is try to make sure there is a balance of different technologies to give us a balanced energy supply” said Mr Cameron. “We do need some of these new renewable technologies and that's why there are subsidies, but we shouldn't have those for a second longer than they're necessary.”
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) along with environmentalists and many in the renewable energy industry itself mainly places the blame for rising household energy bills on the increases in global gas prices. Meanwhile the Labour Party under Ed Miliband has promised to curb rising housing bills by placing a freeze on the big six energy companies.
The Prime Minister has also come under increasing pressure from Tory backbench MP’s along with climate change sceptics on the right of the party, to curb the amount of onshore wind farms being built in the UK. Earlier in the year the government also issued new planning rules which make it harder for developers to develop new wind energy projects in the UK. The UK Chancellor, George Osborne, has also fought to curb subsidies for wind farms.
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