Wind energy

Government outlines £100bn renewables vision

Wind, biomass and microgeneration to be big winners as government details wide-ranging investment and incentive package designed to meet EU renewables targets

Written by James Murray

Fresh details have emerged of the government's new renewable energy policy, outlining plans for a massive increase in wind, solar and biomass energy capacity and new powers that could force businesses and householders to install microgeneration technologies and improve energy efficiency.

The plans are revealed in a new consultation document, which was leaked to The Guardian newspaper and is due for publication this Thursday. It outlines a wide-ranging package of proposals designed to ensure the UK meets its EU-imposed target of ensuring 15 per cent of energy comes from renewable sources by 2020.

The document claims that the UK could cut its carbon emissions by 20 per cent and reduce its oil dependency by seven per cent by 2020 if it adopts the £100bn plan.

Wind and biomass energy are expected to be the major winners under the new strategy, which includes plans for 3,500 new onshore wind turbines and a massive 33Gw of offshore wind capacity, as well as proposals for all waste food and wood to be diverted to waste-to-energy biomass plants and the development of a forestry project the size of Essex to provide virgin timer.

The increase in renewables capacity would be supported by the removal of all planning barriers currently obstructing such projects, an increase in the subsidies currently on offer to many renewable energy operators, and a major revamp of the National Grid.

A major package of new loans and grants, including the introduction of a feed-in tariff, is also proposed to encourage home owners and businesses to install solar water heaters, ground source heat pumps and other renewable energy technologies on their properties. Plug-in electric hybrid vehicles are to be heavily promoted, with the report noting that charging such vehicles overnight would enhance grid efficiency by drawing power at off-peak times.

These incentives are to be accompanied by a number of new powers that would see the government introduce new legislation requiring businesses and householders to add green technologies and improve insulation whenever they undertake a renovation. Carbon intensive products such as oil-fired boilers could also be banned, forcing people to turn to more efficient alternatives.

Leonie Greene of the Renewable Energy Association welcomed the new plan, claiming the scope of the proposals appeared largely in line with that required to meet the EU targets. But she urged the government to fasttrack the plans through legislative process by including as many components as possible in the energy bill that is currently before parliament.

"This is an exciting document and these are exciting technologies, but the issue for the renewables industry is action," she said. "We had an energy paper in 2003 saying lots of good things about renewables and it didn't translate into action. It would be good to see many of these measures in the current energy bill, not subjected to another six months of consultation."

She added that there was also a case for the government bolstering further its support for marine energy.

"I'd be really interested to see how much there is in the report about wave and tidal energy," she said. "The UK is globally important in terms of the marine energy capacity we have and we also still have an intellectual lead with regards to the technology."

The document will now be subject to a consultation period with business secretary John Hutton promising that the finalised strategy will be published next spring.

The news comes just a week after two separate reports – one from a Commons Select Committee of MPs and the other from the government's own Renewa bles Advisory Board – warned that current renewable energy policy falls far short of what is required to ensure the UK meets its EU targets.

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