Bell announces his decision on closure of support for the onshore wind industry

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Jonathan Bell has published his response to the consultation on closure of the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) to new onshore wind in 2016.

Commenting on the response Jonathan Bell said: ‘I have today issued a Ministerial statement on my decision in regards closure of support for the onshore wind industry. I have always wanted to bring closure to the NIRO in a manner that delivers the maximum amount of megawatts that can be achieved at the least cost to consumers. With this in mind I consulted on aligning with the DECC policy, having successfully secured a later eligibility date for projects connecting to cluster connections.’

Explaining the latest position, the Minister added: ‘‘I now have clarity from DECC on its policy towards NIRO closure at a UK level. This enables me to now take a dual approach in Northern Ireland. I have listened to the issues raised by both large and small scale developers and with this in mind, I am moving now to effect closure of the NIRO to large scale onshore wind from 1 April 2016 with exceptions in the form of grace periods for eligible projects. I hope to bring legislation to the Assembly shortly.

“I will consult further on closure arrangements for small scale onshore wind, which must now be set in the context of DECC’s intention to protect GB consumers if Northern Ireland does not close the NIRO on equivalent terms to GB. The NIRO will remain open for the time being to small scale wind until further consultation is completed.”