EIS reprieve: funds to be allowed to continue investment

The expected clarification on EIS funding has been published today, with good news for developers using EIS-qualifying investors: they will continue to be allowed to invest in AD even when other renewable technologies are excluded by the changes.

The briefing published today says:

The government intends the legislation to follow an approach that is very similar to that taken when Feed-in Tariffs were excluded from the venture capital schemes in 2012. This means that several methods of production of energy, and several types of company will not be excluded by the legislation.

And then that:

Following the 2012 consultation on the exclusion of companies benefitting from FiTs… methods of energy production where the energy is generated by anaerobic digestion or hydroelectric power were not excluded by the legislation. The government intends to maintain this approach for electricity generation given that evidence does not currently suggest that the market has changed. Where the same technologies can be used to produce heat, these will also not be excluded by the legislation.

As we had said in our briefing to government and in meetings with them, we continue to regard EIS-qualifying funds as an important source of finance for the industry, so this is a very welcome change. If you have any questions, please let me know.