ABSTRACT

Governments in both developed and developing countries are reeling from the cost of the financial crisis and are attempting to tread a fine line between just enough and too much funding for renewable technology deployment. Many countries are cutting back support or redesigning renewables incentives models, despite the importance for investors of policy certainty in this area. In the EU there is an extensive discussion, if not a battle, in respect of the European Commissions Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050 and moving towards a 30 per cent emissions reduction target. The Fukushima disaster in Japan has also caused many to reassess the role of nuclear in avoiding the threat of dangerous climate change and ensuring energy security. Fixed feed-in tariffs (FITs) provide renewable electricity generators with a guaranteed long-term total price per megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity.