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Industry worries EU carbon border tax will penalise British green energy

British wind and solar farms exporting power to continental Europe could face CO2 costs from 2026 even though they do not produce any emissions unless the UK and European Union can agree changes around the EU's carbon border tax.

The charges, set out in a little-noticed clause of the CO2 levy law, might hit profits of renewable resource tasks in the UK, add to already-high EU power rates and even cause greater emissions, market sources and experts told .

It's an issue on both sides, stated Adam Berman, deputy director of market group Energy UK.

( It) disincentivises tidy power in the UK at the moment in which we're trying to increase provision of clean power, and it's. going to increase (power) prices in northern Europe.

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will impose a. CO2 emissions fee on imports to the EU of steel, cement,. aluminium, fertilisers, electrical energy and hydrogen, unless the. exporting nation has equal CO2 prices policies.

Under its present style, the CO2 fee for power would be. determined using a default value based on average and historical. power generation emissions. The British energy market states. that will unjustly penalise renewables.

It is a problem that we understand and one that we. have actually raised, that the UK has actually raised, with the EU, Catherine. Stewart, the UK Treasury's deputy director for trade policy,. told an occasion in Brussels last month.

A European Commission representative said it would continue. talks with all nations, consisting of the UK, on the design of the. carbon levy before finalising its application from 2026.

The additional cost of the charge might make it uneconomic to. export excess tidy power from Britain to Europe at specific. times when need is weaker, renewables generation is high, and. power prices are low, experts stated.

Analysis from Aurora Energy Research study, shared with ,. showed as much as 3 gigawatt hours (GWh) of eco-friendly power. generation, enough to power up to 2,000 homes a year, could be. curtailed by 2030 if the charge shows a disincentive to exporters.

You are including a tax on exporting, so this basically. reduces the revenue margin each time you want to export, said. Pranav Menon, GB Power & & Renewables Lead at Aurora.

In 2030, the carbon border charge could knock 5% off the price. British eco-friendly tasks can make for their power, Aurora. stated.

Decreased access to cheap British electrical power could increase. wholesale power rates by as much as 4% in markets like Ireland and. Northern Ireland's Integrated Electricity Market which import a. lot of power from the UK, the Aurora analysis revealed.

If European countries increase coal and gas power generation to. comprise the shortage, CO2 emissions might even increase - by as. much as 13 million tonnes a year, comparable to emissions of 8. million cars, an earlier analysis by AFRY suggested.

A European Commission representative said eco-friendly power. exports will be able to prevent the CO2 charge if they can comply. with specific requirements and prove their origin.

But market figures state that might be tough.

Most of the electrical power (throughout interconnectors) is traded. anonymously ... so it's nearly difficult to show what. that carbon material is, said Pieter-Jan Marsboom, items and. services supervisor at UK-Belgian power interconnector Nemo Link.

UK ELECTION

British and EU diplomats have quietly begun going over the. concern, but the extremely political nature of any post-Brexit deals. between the 2 implies no progress is anticipated before the UK. general election on July 4.

Some market groups are already in talks with the Labour. Celebration, which surveys suggest is on course to conveniently win the. election, in the hope that it would push in government for a. deal with Brussels on the CO2 levy.

The Labour Celebration did not react to ask for comment.

One alternative would be to link the EU and UK carbon markets,. excusing UK power manufacturers from the tax.

The very best method to handle the (CBAM), and to stop the UK. exporters paying a tax to the EU that might otherwise go into. the UK budget, would be by having (carbon market) connecting, stated. UK power generator SSE'S Group Head of Policy and Advocacy. Alistair McGirr.

Up until now, neither Brussels nor London has actually leapt at that concept.

Previous UK climate change minister Graham Stuart told . in March that the two sides might examine the possibility of. connecting under their post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The European Commission spokesperson stated the bloc is open. to linking its carbon market with others, but this must stem. from a mutual dream from both parties.

This stays to be checked out, the representative said.

(source: Reuters)