Conflict over Carbon Reduction Commitment legislation led to a spirited exchange between two experts on this issue at the DatacenterDynamics conference in London Wednesday.

The process of Enhanced Capital Allowance and rebates is painful and not well thought out, argued tax expert David Rees, a partner at data centre builder Davis Langdon, during his seminar on Data Centres and the CRC.

Some of the finer points of tax credits, penalty rates and revenue recycling are confusing, he said. "I'm a tax expert and I can't quite get my head around this one," Rees said. "I asked a government spokeswoman how it worked and she couldn't explain it either."

Rees suggested that those who are interested in receiving full benefits of ECA might wish to hang fire until the scheme has evolved into a more robust and sustainable form. He also pointed out that companies that rush into complying with an emission cutting agenda could lose out on future benefits.

The incentives seem to favour the inefficient, he suggested. "Those with state-of-the-art buildings are already at a point where they could do little more to reduce emissions," he said. Under the present scheme, by failing to produce evidence of emission cutting these companies would be penalised, he said.

Meanwhile, today's profligate energy wasters stand to gain most from the incentive scheme. "There are companies that could hit their emission-cutting targets immediately, just by closing the windows and turning down the heating," he said.

Audience member Rob Jones, a regional manager for the Carbon Trust, objected: "There's no economic loss if you get started now and it's cynical to say 'do nothing' now. Companies can constantly drive improvements."

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