An investment manager that invests in energy from waste projects has warned that investing in UK infrastructure is being made more complex by the Energy Bill.
Launched in November, the Energy Bill is intended by the Government to set the framework for UK energy generation, including from renewables.
But in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Impax Asset Management chief executive Ian Simm warned that it may not be able to invest in UK renewable energy infrastructure until 2016 until there is more clarity.
He said: “We would be very keen to jump into the UK once the Bill has been sorted out. But the situation is currently so complex that it is going to take several years to work out what the market looks like.
“The detail is going to be in the secondary legislation and it’s the detail that will determine whether lenders are willing to lend to projects.”
He also warned that the proposed Contracts for Difference subsidy will take time to understand as it is “phenomenally complicated”.
He added: “There are a lot of projects backed up because nobody will fund construction…
“…It could work and if the details are right it should unlock a huge amount of capital. But it’s hard to see, from the current vantage point, when that will happen.”
