UK renewables policy 'inadequate' - BBC News

Summary:
Committe of MPs conclude that there appears to be a lack of urgency with the government and electricity which could prevent it from achieving its 10% renewables target for 2010. According to the committee, 35% of the UK's electricity will need to come from technologies such as wind, wave and biomass. They found that the wait for planning consent was "too lengthy" and access to the national grid was "too limited." technologies are unable to commence electricity generation due to a poorly conceived transmission access regime: there is a backlog of projects to be connected to the national grid. There is also a shortage of skills needed to construct installations. Committee calls for the government to take steps to "support the widespread deployment of renewable electricity generation technologies as a priority, both at a level of macro and microgeneration" (Published: 19/06/08)

Notes:

• UK target: 10% of electricity being generated by renewable sources by 2010
• 2006: 4.6% of the UK's electricity came from renewable sources
• March 2007:
  
• EU adopted a common energy policy, which committed the bloc to generating 20% of its total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020
• beginning of 2008: the European Commission proposed that in order to meet this goal, the UK needed to derive 15% of its energy from renewables by 2020
• Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee
• committee of MPs
  
• calls UK renewables policy inadequate to achieve target
• disappointed by an apparent "lack of urgency" expressed by both the government and the electricity industry
• wait for planning consent was "too lengthy" and access to the national grid was "too limited"

• committee chairman Phil Willis: "It is immensely frustrating that, on the one hand, the government is encouraging the deployment of renewable technologies, but on the other, these technologies are unable to commence electricity generation due to a poorly conceived transmission access regime.
  

  • already a waiting list for projects to be connected to the national grid
  • e.g. in Scotland, there is a 9.3 gigawatts of wind energy capacity waiting to be connected.

• also warned that there was a shortage of skills needed to construct installations
• could also threaten efforts to have 10% of the UK's electricity coming from renewable sources by 2010.
• Dr Mark Williamson, director of innovations at the Carbon Trust
• "The UK, while currently at a low base for renewables, has a fantastic opportunity to fast-track the development of a number of key technologies, such as offshore wind and marine energy. Not only will this deliver significant carbon reductions but it should also deliver significant economic returns."
• MPs said that if the government was to meet its target, then about 35% of the UK's electricity would have to come from technologies such as wind, wave and biomass
• "It is therefore critical that the government takes steps to support the widespread deployment of renewable electricity generation technologies as a priority, both at a level of macro and microgeneration"