U.K. Spending Review indicates clean-energy commitment

The U.K. Spending Review and Autumn Statement, released by the government recently, indicates support for energy innovation.

Included within the review are financial and budgeting commitments to the U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and innovation programs within the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

“My priority is to deliver secure, affordable, clean energy supplies that hard-working families and businesses across the country can rely on, now and in the future,” DECC Secretary of State Amber Rudd said. “As we transition to a low-carbon economy as cost effectively as possible, finding new sources of energy that are cheap, reliable and clean is essential, which is why we are boosting our spending on innovation and backing the industries of the future.”

The U.K. will allocate approximately $531 million into the DECC’s innovation program over a period of five years and approximately $1.8 billion from the International Climate Change Fund to aid more vulnerable counties in the country.

The NDA also has been allocated approximately $11.7 billion to support its continued work with decontaminating and decommissioning nuclear sites.

The U.K. will be taking on efficiency reform projects that are expected to result in higher reliability and reasonable costs to ratepayers.

“We will continue taking action to keep consumer bills down,” Rudd said. “We will also double our spending on renewable heat and electricity over the next five years as we invest in new infrastructure fit for the 21st century to ensure our long-term energy security.”