Governments across Europe have agreed to put the brakes on the growth of utility scale renewable energy generation in 2017. An European Commission (EC) directive will enforce a slowdown in the growth of utility scale renewables, by ending feed-in tariff policies for renewable electricity project over 1 MW. Energy providers have long felt aggrieved by the guaranteed price points created by the feed-in tariff, and have passed a large proportion of the extra cost onto customers. These energy providers will be the group most pleased with the directive. The directive looks set to reduce opportunities in the renewables industry in Europe, driving investment out, at a time when the full costs of installing renewables is on the verge of reaching…