Renewable energy - 'Massive shake-up needed to meet targets'

Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 24 Oct 08;

A Churchillian effort will be needed if Britain is to meet its target of getting 15 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, Peers have warned.

And it will require a massive shake-up of how power is produced and distributed across the energy industry, the European Union Committee says in a new report.

Britain gets only about two per cent of its energy from renewable sources, mostly from wind farms and will be hard-pressed to meet the 15 per cent target imposed by the EU, the report concludes.

Much will depend on the Government being able to persuade the public to use less power and to begin thinking about producing their own electricity at home - so called micro generation.

To achieve this planning laws will have to be shunted aside and Ministers given more powers to drive through renewable energy schemes even when there is local opposition.

The Committee chairman, Lord Freeman, said: "The target is achievable but only through a tremendous national effort on a Churchillian scale.

"Priorities will have to be changed and will involve everybody from the consumer producing electricity at home to the big power companies."

The Government is criticised in the report for not tackling energy efficiency in its Renewable Energy Strategy and it calls for a 20 per cent energy reduction target by 2020.

The report claims 41 per cent of the UK's energy use is for heating and cooling and says renewable heat technologies and micro-electricity generation should form a key part of the strategy.

It calls for bigger grants to give homeowners the incentive to install the new technology needed to start generating their own electricity.

The committee warns that the rush to meet the 2020 target through wind farms might lead to more cost-effective technologies - such as wave and tidal energy - being ignored and it says a 2030 target should also be set to give alternative technologies more time to develop.

It says the Government should not rely on the proposed Severn Barrage to provide enough energy to meet its targets as, assuming it is approved, it won't be operational until 2022. And it says the length of time that will be needed to make a decision on the Barrage cannot be repeated in future projects if it hopes to meet its targets.

It agrees that renewable energy produced abroad should be bought in to help the UK meet its target subject to a limit of 10-15 per cent, and as long as it did not hamper the development of the renewables industry.

Lord Freeman added: "The 15 per cent target is laudable but is an enormous challenge for the UK, particularly given our current levels of renewable generation.

"Urgent and drastic action will need to be taken in terms of planning, the supply chain and the electricity grid. Energy efficiency and energy saving must be the starting points for meeting the target and policies to encourage reductions in energy use will need to be introduced as part of a comprehensive package of measures aimed at meeting the target.

"If we fail to meet this goal, the UK will become increasingly reliant on nuclear and fossil fuel power."

Friends of the Earth's climate campaigner Robin Webster said: "The House of Lords has recognised the need for urgent Government action to meet our target for boosting renewable energy.

"Ministers must stop trying to wriggle out of their commitments and get on with the job of harnessing Britain's huge potential for green power.

"This will help cut emissions, create many thousands of jobs and secure a safe energy supply - leading Britain to a cleaner and more prosperous future."