Greenest government ever?

In April this year, the United Kingdom took a new turn: it was the first time that feed-in tariffs (FiTs) were introduced in the country. These tariffs are available for wind, PV and biogas systems with a maximum capacity of 5 MW (cf. table) until 2013. However, so far, it still remains to be seen which course will be taken by the new government that was elected in May. While Prime Minister David Cameron promised to lead "the greenest government ever", his party does not have an absolute majority and therefore depends on the liberal democrats as coalition partner. What is more, the government is faced with drastic cuts across the board. In July, the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) announced that different subsidies for renewable energy would be cut with the aim of saving 34 million British Pounds (GDP) equalling about ??? 38.8 million. Among others, this will affect tenders for bioenergy technologies and the offshore wind capital grants scheme, which promotes the development of offshore wind parks. Meanwhile, many market participants have their doubts whether the FiTs will be continued: "The new government has not made a statement yet. The 'Autumn Financial Statement' for the next term is expected on October 20 super(th) 2010 and many are now hoping that the future of the feed-in tariffs will be addressed," says Marten Beckedorf of Germany-based Biogas Nord AG.