PwC: UK faces £10bn wind energy shortfall

Michael Hurley of PwC has called for more investor-friendly regulation in the UK's renewable energy sector.

The UK is currently facing a £10 billion renewables funding shortfall that could hinder its ability to meet offshore wind turbine targets, a new report has found.

Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) noted that offshore wind is targeted with delivering about half of the additional 27 GW generation capacity required to meet Britain's 30 per cent renewable generation target by 2020.

However, the study found that last year, less than half of the average annual rollout of 1.1 GW needed to meet the 2020 target was achieved.

According to Michael Hurley, global energy and utilities advisory leader at PwC, the required rollout rate is being severely hampered by the scarcity of pre-construction finance.

"We need to dismantle the barrier to investment by creating mechanisms to either limit the risk associated with the construction phase or to improve short returns without unduly pushing excess costs on to consumers," he said.

The news comes after Neil Woodford, leading fund manager at Invesco Perpetual, last week sent an open letter to Lord Mogg, chairman of the energy watchdog Ofgem, to express concerns about the funding shortfall.