In the face of the first UK hung parliament since 1974, the media has been dominated by talks of what happens next.

A potential Conservative/ Lib Dem coalition has to date been the most discussed. We know however that the Conservatives and the Lib Dems have major policy differences on electoral reform, the economy and immigration.

Overall the Lib Dems appear to have more in common with Labour – from the timing of public spending cuts to electoral reform and creating a green economy. With the major Lib-Lab differences limited to ID cards and immigration, the match looks much cleaner. Labour however did poorly in the election and even with Gordon Brown offering to resign it looks like a deal with the Conservatives is the more realistic option on the table.

So -if the Conservatives and the Lib Dems do manage somehow to overcome their differences – what would be the outcome for UK energy policy?

David Cameron has said that he shares common ground with the Lib Dems on moving towards a low carbon economy and decentralising power. The Lib Dems are however vehemently opposed to nuclear power whilst the Conservatives strongly support the technology. The nuclear issue has not however made it on the list of deal breaking “red lines”. We can therefore expect the new generation of nuclear power stations to be pushed through – however they are likely to be subject to further delays.

Given both parties localism agenda, the Infrastructure Planning Commission is highly likely to be moved to the Planning Inspectorate with decisions for large energy projects such as nuclear and wind farms over 50MW falling to the Secretary of State.

The Lib Dems have much higher renewable energy targets (40% renewable energy by 2020 and 100% by 2050) than the Conservatives (the currently adopted 20% renewable energy by 2020), however the Conservative party is famous for its climate sceptic MPs and dedication to delivery is questioned by many in the renewables industry.

Labour also wants nuclear power but wants decisions on planning applications to be taken by the independant body – the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC). If by some miracle they do achieve a coalition with the Lib dems delays to the nuclear programme are also likely.

Whatever the outcome – it is likely to be positive for the UK renewable energy industry. All parties in principle support renewables and any attempts by Conservatives to prevent certain technologies from being built via changes to the planning system or fiscal measures are likely to be picked up and prevented by the Lib Dems.