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UK proposals boost prospects for renewable energy -Power Engineering Online-26.6.2008 26 June 2008 - The UK government today released its Renewable Energy Strategy including proposals aimed at meeting it ambitious target for use of renewable energy, creating 160 000 jobs and slashing carbon emissions. The national renewable energy blueprint aims reduce
the UK's dependency on oil and gas and claim a valuable share of global
green business opportunity was set out by Business Secretary John Hutton
today. Hutton outlined proposals to enable the UK to meet its proposed 15 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, ten-fold increase on current levels. This is likely to include up to a third of electricity coming from renewables as well as significant increases in the use of renewable forms of heat and transport fuels. Speaking alongside the Prime Minister at the Government's Low Carbon Economy Summit on London's South Bank, Hutton said, "We are opening a new chapter in Britain's history as a nation of enterprise and innovation, moving from the old, carbon intensive economy of the industrial revolution to the new low carbon technologies of the 21st century. "This vast expansion of renewable energy marks an important moment in this journey and, alongside our plans for new nuclear and clean coal, will play a crucial role in tackling climate change and reducing our dependency on oil and gas.
New NOP polling published by the Department for
Business today shows The Renewable Energy Strategy consultation published today builds on existing measures, and includes proposals for: * Extending and raising the level of the Renewables Obligation to encourage 30-35 per cent of our electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020; * Introducing a new financial incentive mechanism to encourage a very large increase in renewable heat, including in homes and other buildings; * Extending more effective financial support for heat and electricity microgeneration technologies in homes and other buildings, potentially through a feed-in tariff; * Helping the planning system to deliver, by agreeing a clear deployment strategy at regional level similar to the approach established for housing; * Ensuring appropriate incentives for new electricity grid infrastructure and removing access to the transmission grid as a barrier to renewable deployment; * Exploiting the full potential of energy from waste by considering further restrictions on landfilling biomass, as far as is practical; * Requiring all biofuels to meet strict sustainability criteria to limit adverse impacts on food prices, and other social and environmental concerns; * Encouraging the development of new renewable technologies by ensuring effective support particularly where the UK has the potential to be a market leader; * Maximising the benefits for UK business by providing a clear long-term policy framework, working with Regional Development Agencies to tackle blockages, considering support for specific technologies and addressing skills shortages. Responses to the Renewable Energy Strategy consultation are invited by 26 September 2008. A final strategy is expected to be in place by spring 2009. Last year the UK, along with other EU member states, agreed to a binding target stating that 20 per cent of the EU's energy consumption must come from renewable sources by 2020. The European Commission has proposed the UK's contribution to this should increase the share of renewables in our energy mix from 1.5 per cent in 2006 (most recent data) to 15 per cent in 2020. In 2000 the UK set itself a target for 10 per cent of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2010, and in 2003 announced our aspiration to double that level by 2020. By use of the Renewable Energy Obligation (RO), the UK has been able to triple electricity from renewables in the last five years. The 2007 Energy White Paper set out measures to improve the RO - currently being implemented via the Energy Bill. <<<<< Geri <<<<<
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