Keeping coal alive and kicking: Hidden subsidies and preferential treatment in the UK Capacity Market
The European Commission should launch a detailed investigation of the UK Capacity Market. The current proposals are bad for consumers, bad for the climate, and contrary to EU internal market rules. The UK government proclaims its support for all three of these objectives, but its actions fail to match up to its rhetoric.
The UK is proposing multi-year contracts for existing coal plants, which would provide illegal subsidy for upgrades. Payments on a yearly basis would instead be sufficient for maintaining security of supply over the next decade. The Commission should require the UK to revise these elements of its proposals.
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