Keith Anderson, ScottishPower CEO, said:  “In times of national crisis everyone should be playing their part. We’re deeply disappointed renewables have been singled out – it seems it’s a recession made by gas, but a recovery to be paid for by renewables.

"Imposing this scheme to March 2028 creates a five-year long corridor of uncertainty for investors – hitting the clean energy projects we need more of to wean us off gas dependency and decarbonise.

“It is hard to understand why renewables are being taxed at similar levels to oil and gas yet those businesses are being given added incentives to invest in even more fossil fuels.”