Renewables set free
15 Jan 2000
The Electricity Act 1989 requires Public Electricity Suppliers in England and Wales to secure electricity from non-fossil sources through NFFO (Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation) projects. NFFO provides a protected market with guaranteed contracts at premium prices to help renewable generators enter the commercial generating market.
The first contract in the transition of renewables-generated electricity from NFFO protection to the free market was reached in May last year between the Renewable Energy Company and landfill developer Thomas Graveson.
There have been five NFFO rounds to date. Contracts issued under the first two ended in December 1998 and are now competing in the open market.
A new 2.7MW plant at Whinney Hill in Accrington, Lancashire which generates electricity from landfill gas is the latest site to partake in NFFO-4 projects. At the moment, 99 landfill gas schemes have been commissioned under NFFO and equivalent schemes, with a total capacity of over 180MW at an average price of 2.73p/kWh under NFFO-5 pricing.
