The panels industry intends to continue lobbying the government about the potential threat it faces from renewable fuel subsidies paid to the power industry, following the publication of a DTI report on sustainable energy.
Wood Panel Industries Federation director Alastair Kerr said the “Creating a Low Carbon Economy” report, the first annual report on the government’s Energy White Paper, did not appear to alleviate the situation faced by the panels industry.
But he reported a greater level of understanding within government and elsewhere of the threat of subsidies, paid under the Renewables Obligation Certificates scheme, which could lead to price rises of panel producers’ raw material.
He said: “We are in a continuing dialogue with DTI officers. We think there needs to be additional work done to look at the economic viability of wood as a fuel.”
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“If major power generators start burning wood, that will have an impact on our industry” |
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Wood Panel Industries Director Alastair Kerr |
Mr Kerr, who last year met DTI minister Stephen Timms to discuss the subsidies, said the degree of threat faced by the industry depended on how the renewable fuels market developed.
He said: “If major power generators choose to start burning wood, that will have an impact on our industry.”
Mr Kerr said there was some evidence in Europe of panel producers being affected by rising energy taxes on fossil fuels to encourage creation of renewable energy.
