Britain to double low carbon power role by 2020

Peter Griffiths and Nina Chestney, Reuters 15 Jul 09;

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will double the share of its electricity generated from low carbon sources by 2020 as part of plans to cut emissions and counter global warming, the government said on Wednesday.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said 40 percent of Britain's electricity will come from nuclear, wind, solar, marine and cleaner coal, compared with a fifth today.

By 2020, renewable energy sources will provide 31 percent of Britain's electricity, up from 6 percent today, while nuclear's share will fall to 8 percent from current levels of between 15 percent and nearly a quarter, depending on the variable output of nuclear plants.

"Our plan will strengthen our energy security...it seizes industrial opportunity and it rises to the moral challenge of climate change," Miliband said in a statement.

The pledge shows Britain's commitment to climate talks in Copenhagen in December that aim to secure a global deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol on reducing emissions, he added.

Attempts to reach a new accord have foundered on fears that environmental targets could hamper any economic recovery and rows between rich and developing nations on emissions cuts.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who chaired the Major Economies Forum this month, failed to convince China, India and others to agree to a G8-supported goal of halving world emissions by 2050.

With Britain in its worst recession in 50 years and the ruling Labour Party trailing in the polls with an election less than a year away, the government has been keen to talk up the benefits of the growing environmental sector.

Analysts said the proposals could help Britain's economy, but warned that it is still well behind some other countries.

"Others are finishing the quarter finals, while we are still planning the best stadium," said Stuart Haszeldine, geosciences professor at the University of Edinburgh.

The plan will help Britain to meet its 2008 pledge to the European Union to meet 15 percent of its energy demand through renewable sources by 2020, up from 1.3 percent in 2005.

But this target is less ambitious than those of Spain and France, which signed up for targets of 20 percent or higher, and of Sweden which agreed to a 2020 goal of 49 percent.

CLEANER COAL

The government reaffirmed its commitment to making coal-fired power stations less polluting by funding research into carbon capture and storage technology (CCS).

The technique of removing carbon dioxide from a coal plant's smoke and burying it underground could reduce emissions by 90 percent, the government said. Britain will help fund four CCS trials and require new coal-powered plants to fit the technology within five years of it being proved viable, probably by 2020.

In a series of policy documents, Britain said the global market for low carbon goods and services could expand to 4.3 trillion pounds ($7,047 billion) by 2015 from 3 trillion pounds in 2007/08 and grow even faster if a deal is struck in Denmark.

Miliband said Britain's low carbon sector will be one of the few areas of the economy that will grow during the recession and beyond, expanding at over 4 percent each year up to 2014/15.

The number of people employed in the sector could rise by 400,000 to over 1.28 million by 2015, compared to 880,000 today.

Action to tackle climate change will add about 8 percent to household energy bills by 2020, Miliband said. This estimate relies on consumers using less energy.

About a fifth of the emissions cuts by 2020 will come from cleaner transport, including government subsidies of between 2,000 and 5,000 pounds for each electric car. A further 15 percent of the emissions cuts must come from making homes more energy efficient, while 10 percent will come from the workplace.

Britain was the first country to set legally-binding emissions targets. It wants to cut its output of planet-warming gases by 34 percent by 2020, from 1990 levels.

(Additional reporting by Michael Szabo and Daniel Fineren. Editing by Anthony Barker)

FACTBOX: Key facts from Britain's low carbon route map
Reuters 15 Jul 09;

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain outlined on Wednesday how it plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change.

Following are the key elements of the plan.

INDUSTRY

The government said the low carbon sector would be one of the few areas of the economy to grow during the recession and beyond. The UK low carbon goods and services sector is expected to grow by more than 4 percent per year up to 2014/15.

The global low carbon market could expand to at least 4.3 trillion pounds ($7.05 trillion) by 2015 from 3 trillion pounds in 2007/8 if a deal is reached at climate talks in Copenhagen in December.

The number of people employed in the sector in Britain could rise to more than 1 million by 2015, from 880,000 today.

In regard to housing, only zero carbon homes will be built from 2016, the government said.

TRANSPORT

The government said it will invest up to 10 million pounds in the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure out of a total funding package of 405 million for the low carbon sector announced in the 2009 Budget.

BIOFUELS

The government said it would support creation of a biofuels demonstration plant in England to convert organic waste to bioethanol and would give further details later this year.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

To increase energy efficiency, funding of up to 6 million pounds will be available for smart grid, which will be able to react to fluctuations in power demand and generation.

The government aims to get smart meters in every home by the end of 2020.

RENEWABLES OBLIGATION

The government said it was conducting a consultation to extend the lifetime of the Renewables Obligation (RO) to at least 2037 for new projects, but to limit RO support to 20 years per project.

To fund new low-carbon and renewable energy projects, the government said it would draw on capital from the European Investment Bank and other developers.

The scheme forces utilities to generate an increasing proportion of their electricity from low-carbon sources.

FEED-IN TARIFFS FOR SMALL SCALE POWER PRODUCTION

The government said feed-in tariffs would be introduced for installation of up to 5 megawatts from April 2010 and is consulting on design and implementation this summer. The tariffs offer financial incentives for domestic solar panels or wind turbines.

OFF-SHORE WIND

Out of the Budget funding allocation, the government has pledged up to 120 million pounds to support off-shore wind.

WAVE/TIDAL POWER

The government pledged up to 60 million pounds for wave and tidal power investment, including 9.5 million pounds for the Wave Hub demonstration facility off the Cornish coast.

The Wave Hub project is due to be built in 2010, with deployment in Spring 2011.

The report also said the final shortlist of the Severn tidal scheme were confirmed as three barrages, including Cardiff-Westen Barrage and two lagoons.

The government said it would provide up to 22 million pounds in a Marine Renewables Proving Fund for marine energy technologies reaching demonstration stage within 2011-2014.

RENEWABLE HEAT INCENTIVE

The government a financial incentive to secure heat from renewable energy sources would be available from 2011 with consultation expected toward the end of 2009 on eligible technologies, support levels and a levy to raise funding.

Until new financial incentives are introduced, 45 million pounds of new funding will be available, the government said.

PRICES

The government estimates that taken in isolation, the measures would increase household electricity bills by 15 percent and gas bills by 23 percent by 2020. But new and existing measures would add about 8 percent to household bills because of greater energy efficiency.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney, Peter Griffiths, Daniel Fineren, Nao Nakanishi, Kwok W. Wan, editing by Anthony Barker)

INSTANT VIEW: Britain maps out greener future
Reuters 15 Jul 09;

LONDON (Reuters) - The global market for low carbon goods and services could grow by a third in six years and may expand even faster if a climate change deal is reached in Copenhagen later this year, the UK government said on Wednesday.

The Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband published a "route map" for British emissions cuts of 34 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels and at least 80 percent by 2050.

The following are views on the government's strategy:

NEIL BENTLEY, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, CBI:

"This is a promising start and includes many measures the CBI has been calling for to reduce emissions across the country. However, question marks remain over the ability of these plans to attract the 150 billion pounds of private sector investment needed to renew our energy infrastructure, improve energy security and allow us to meet climate change targets."

STEVE HOLIDAY, NATIONAL GRID CHIEF EXECUTIVE:

"It's now critical to get action on delivering what's needed to turn that vision into reality. The challenge of ensuring security of supply and fighting climate change is one we cannot afford to fail."

"Crucially, planning reform must be implemented without delay -- where major infrastructure investments are concerned, dates like 2020 are only the blink of an eye away and the clock is ticking."

KEITH ALLOTT, HEAD OF CLIMATE CHANGE AT WWF:

"It's great that the Government is now taking steps to ramp up delivery of clean, renewable energy within the UK...An efficient, green energy future will create jobs and new industries, and massively reduce our reliance on costly and volatile fossil fuel imports." "(But) unfortunately, the government has failed to provide the incentives that will make investors turn away from traditional power sources like unabated coal and move toward low carbon, green energy."

JAMES CLOSE, ERNST & YOUNG PARTNER, GOVERNMENT SERVICES:

"Ernst & Young's recent European Country Attractiveness Survey revealed that new green market opportunities created 6,000 jobs across Europe in 2008. Astute businesses will be positioning themselves to take market share and gain access to this sector."

ANDREW PERKINS, ERNST & YOUNG PARTNER, ENERGY AND

ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORY:

"The Government is serious about reducing Britain's dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy and as such they should be welcomed."

"The report recognizes the cost implication of these initiatives but, as the study suggests, the benefits of effective, early action on climate change far outweigh the costs."

MARIA MCCAFFERY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BRITISH WIND ENERGY

ASSOCIATION (BWEA)

"This will help convince investors that the country is serious about fighting climate change and developing domestic, renewable sources of energy."

"We are on the threshold of a new energy era and need just one more decisive push over the next ten year to deliver on our targets, and move to a low carbon economy...We now need to set our sights squarely on implementation."

NIGEL YAXLEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF COALIMP, THE ASSOCIATION

OF UK COAL IMPORTERS

"It's obviously very important to have a very aggressive policy for the development of clean coal within an overall strategy in which renewables, nuclear and energy saving all play an important role."

STUART OLIVER, SPOKESMAN FOR THE CONFEDERATION OF UK COAL

PRODUCERS:

"The UK coal industry welcomes government initiatives to maintain coal as part of the energy mix."

"CCS (carbon capture and storage) will create a new way to burn coal more cleanly...UK Coal, for example, is not merely a coal producer - it has its own plans for wind farms, and generates from coal-bed methane produced as a by-product of mining."

DEBORAH DOANE, DIRECTOR OF THE WORLD DEVELOPMENT MOVEMENT:

"Worryingly the government has said it can use carbon offsetting to meet targets if we fail to cut emissions. This is a dangerous get-out-of-jail-free card which could be disastrous for the climate and for the world's poorest people."

"Ed Miliband's own department has previously acknowledged that we don't need new coal power stations to keep the lights on. So it's contradictory to see his continued claims that we need to build new coal power stations."

DAVID FYFE, HEAD OF IEA'S OIL INDUSTRY AND MARKET DIVISION:

"It is always good to have ambitious targets. We need to look at the solid policy measures that are put in place to back this up, and that is a question mark. Can those sort of reductions feasibly be met in that time horizon? And we need to see what concrete incentives there are to enable us to meet those targets."

PAUL JACKSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

BOARD: "These announcements include some ambitious figures for reductions in carbon emissions. In order to achieve these we will need more skilled engineers with the relevant skills and further investment in green technology. It is important to recognize the need for consistency and stability in this crucial policy area to secure the future of the UK energy supply and to meet the Government's targets."

ANDY ATKINS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH:

"The Government has a unique opportunity to build on its ground-breaking Climate Change Act and show bold international leadership ahead of crucial U.N. climate negotiations by setting out a detailed route map for slashing UK emissions and delivering a safer, greener future for us all."

"But it's important that the UK meets its targets through domestic cuts in emissions, rather than buying carbon offsets from abroad."

BEN COSH, DIRECTOR OF WIND AND SOLAR DEVELOPER, THE GREEN

COMPANY:

"Finally the UK Government is doing something to catch up with the rest of Europe. We expect the first year of the feed-in tariff to be extremely busy as people with suitable sites place their orders and lock in the highest tariff rates.

"In order for the UK Government to comply with its legal obligation for 2020 it must see 600,000 wind and solar systems deployed across the UK."

DALE VINCE, FOUNDER OF GREEN ENERGY COMPANY, ECOTRICITY:

"As fossil fuel prices continue to increase, our bills will double - again and again. The "cost' of converting to renewable energy... needs to be seen in contrast to this. The urgent conversion to renewable energy will insulate us from some of the worst effects of growing fossil fuel shortages and energy price hikes. This is an investment, not an additional cost."

DAVID WILLIAMS, CEO OF RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPER Eco2,

FORMERLY BIOMASS ADVISOR ON GOVERNMENT RENEWABLE ENERGY:

"April's Budget saw a huge shift in favor toward offshore wind, granting these projects 2 ROCs seemingly under the assumption that only offshore wind projects were affected by the economic downturn. I'm worried that biomass and other renewables could suffer again at the hands of preference for offshore wind.

"The Government has done nothing to facilitate access to debt for renewable projects - as referred to in the Budget in the form of loan guarantees etc.

"Biomass appears to be losing favor to 'sexier' technologies and yet is far better placed to deliver on the 2020 renewable energy targets."

PAUL GOLBY, CEO OF UTILITY COMPANY E.ON UK:

"We have to get serious about the fight against climate change and we have to do it now. I don't like to sound alarmist but it really is now or never if we're to win that fight.

"Everyone has to take responsibility and to take it now - the Government has to give companies such as E.ON a market that also gives them confidence to build Britain's low carbon future and to allow consumers have to embrace that future.

"It's no longer about 'just the Government' or 'just the energy companies', this is a responsibility that falls on us all and that has to be accepted by everyone."

(Reporting by Daniel Fineren, Nina Chestney, Peter Griffiths, Kwok Wan, Christopher Johnson; editing by Anthony Barker)

Britain launches renewables drive to cut emissions
Yahoo News 15 Jul 09;

LONDON (AFP) – Britain announced plans Wednesday to slash emissions with a huge increase in the use of renewable energy to generate one third of the country's electricity needs by 2020.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said tackling climate change would require "comprehensive changes" in Britain's economy and society, as he unveiled proposals to cut emissions from transport, agriculture and industry.

Forty percent of electricity would come from renewables such as wind and wave energy, and nuclear and "clean fossil fuels", he said.

Britain has committed to cuts of 34 percent in emissions by 2020, and has signed up to European Union targets to source 15 percent of all energy from renewable sources by the end of the next decade.

It has already reduced greenhouse gases by about 21 percent compared to 1990 levels, including cuts that companies have purchased through the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).

Explaining how the targets would be met, Miliband said that by 2020, 30 percent of electricity would come from renewables and a further 10 percent from nuclear and coal plants where emissions were captured and stored.

The fuel sources were "the trinity of low carbon and the future of energy in Britain", the minister said.

The government has come under fire over the potential costs of "greening" the British energy sector, but Miliband insisted it would be less costly than feared because of technological advances.

He said the new measures would not increase energy bills before 2015 but admitted bills would rise afterwards by as much as eight percent. But there will be some grants available to make homes more energy efficient.

Miliband also said up to 400,000 jobs could be provided by green jobs from sectors such as low-carbon industry, recycling and waste.

On the day Britain's jobless rate surged to its highest for 12 years, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said: "The transition to a low-carbon economy provides an important part of the answer of where the future jobs are going to come from".

"This is a challenge that every economy is facing, and we are determined that by setting clear policy now, Britain positions itself to benefit both economically and environmentally from the transition," Mandelson said.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England, the RSPB and National Trust said in a joint statement that a renewable energy revolution in Britain was long overdue.

They added: "We look forward to working with government to ensure this takes place within the timescale needed to tackle climate change."

Greenpeace generally welcomed the plans, but urged the government to back them with sufficient funding.

Low carbon way 'to reshape lives'
Richard Black, BBC News 15 Jul 09;

Ambitious plans to generate one third of UK electricity from renewables by 2020 form the centrepiece of government plans for a low carbon future.

Financial packages for wind and wave energy and changes to planning procedures are among key components of the Low Carbon Transition Plan.

"Smart" meters are to be deployed in 26 million homes by 2020.

The government says the plan will create up to 400,000 "green jobs" without a major hike in energy prices.

"The strategies we are launching today outline the government's vision for achieving a low carbon future for the UK, reshaping the way we live and work in every element of our lives," said Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.

"This is a challenge that every economy is facing, and we are determined that by setting clear policy now, Britain positions itself to benefit both economically and environmentally from the transition."

The measures are designed to meet the UK target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 34% from 1990 levels by 2020, and the EU-derived target of producing 15% of energy from renewable sources by the same date.

Currently, greenhouse gas emissions are about 22% below the 1990 baseline, according to government figures, including cuts that companies have purchased through the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).

Every sector of the economy will be expected to cut emissions, although electricity generation and heavy industry will bear about half of the reductions.

Among the measures designed to stimulate expansion of renewable power are:

* up to £120m to advance the offshore wind industry
* up to £60m to stimulate progress in wave and tidal technologies
* £6m to explore geothermal energy potential
* a new facility to research nuclear technology
* financial incentives for home generation
* the government will exercise powers to speed up grid connection for renewable installations

While the renewables target is 30% share of the electricity sector by 2020, the low carbon target is 40% - the difference implying a 10% share for nuclear.

Seven thousand new wind turbines may rise from land and sea by 2020; and Climate and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said resistance to the technology would have to change.

"It is important to be sensitive to people's issues around wind power," he told reporters.

"But our default position as a country needs to change. The biggest threat to our beautiful countryside isn't wind turbines, it's climate change."

In addition, the mission of the regulator Ofgem will be expanded to include a mandate for cutting emissions.

Many observers believe the targets are stretchingly ambitious.

"We need a sixfold increase in renewable energy generation in just 11 years," commented Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust.

"This can be achieved but will require not just a transformation in technology, but in political, economic and industrial thinking."

The government says these measures, when combined with an expansion in home insulation and smart meters, will not raise energy prices up to 2015, though probably will do by 2020.

From 2011, the poorest households will receive mandatory help with fuel bills.

Outside energy and industry, transport emissions are to be tackled though a combination of better fuel efficiency on the road, electrification of the rail network, the use of sustainable biofuels, infrastructure for recharging electric vehicles in up to six cities, and measures designed to increase cycling.

Farmers will be asked - and encouraged - to cut emissions by changing agricultural practices, paying for the creation of woodland, and support for facilities that use farm waste for energy.

The government believes the changes will usher in a new post-recession era of sustainable green growth.

Ministers also say the plan puts the UK in a leadership role in the months leading up to December's critically important UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

But while generally welcoming the plan, campaigners suggested it did not go far enough.

"The government's plans are good news for UK energy security, jobs and progress towards a low carbon economy," said Christian Aid's climate policy expert Alison Doig.

"Our fear is that they will not achieve enough to help keep the global temperature rise below 2C (3.6F) and safeguard people in developing countries from dangerous climate change. We also question whether the government has shown enough ambition to inspire courageous commitments by other industrialised countries."


Government unveils sweeping plans to transform UK into low-carbon economy
The low-carbon transition plan covers all sectors, from home insulation and generating power, to electric cars and high-speed trains
Alok Jha, guardian.co.uk 15 Jul 09;

The government has unveiled detailed plans for transforming the UK to a low-carbon economy and meeting its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The measures, which touch on all aspects of life, from home insulation and power generation to electric cars and high-speed trains, are designed to achieve emissions cuts of 34% by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.

Under the plans, which are projected to create 1.2m "green jobs", every government department will be required to meet a carbon budget alongside its financial budget. The announcement is the first time the government has laid out in detail where the carbon axe will fall and how much each department will be expected to cut.

Miliband warned, however, that domestic energy prices would rise in 2020 to pay for some of the required changes. He hoped this would be offset with energy efficiency savings in 7m homes and financial help for the poorest consumers.

"The proposals published today are the first time we have set out a comprehensive plan for carbon across every sector – energy, homes, transport, agriculture and business," said Miliband. "Our transition plan is a route map to 2020. It strengthens our energy security, it seeks to be fair in the decisions we make, above all it rises to the moral challenge of climate change."

In the government's white paper on energy and climate, called the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan and published today, half of the proposed carbon cuts to 2020 would come from changes to the power sector, 15% from making homes more efficient, 10% from workplace improvements, 20% from changing how we travel and 5% from agriculture and land use.

This means that 40% of UK electricity by 2020 will come from low-carbon sources including renewables, nuclear and clean coal. The white paper also launches consultation on the details of the government's feed-in tariff, re-named the "clean energy cash-back" scheme, which will pay people and businesses a premium for generating low-carbon electricity. A similar scheme for renewable heat will follow in April 2011.

The white paper details plans for a "pay as you save" scheme for homeowners to receive loans to insulate their homes, with money repaid by savings in energy costs.

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust welcomed the scheme. "People tell us that the biggest barrier that stops them from making their homes more energy efficient is the need to find money to pay for the up-front costs. Our research shows that householders are more likely to make larger investments, including micro-generation and solid-wall insulation, if the costs can be spread through the savings they make on their energy bills."

Other measures in the white paper and the industrial and transport strategies, also published today, include:

• Up to £6m to start development of a "smart grid", including a policy road map next year.

• Launch of the new Office for Renewable Energy Deployment in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to speed up the growth of renewables in the UK.

• DECC to take direct responsibility from Ofgem for establishing a new grid access regime within 12 months.

• Up to £180m would be made available to promote wind and tidal power – this includes setting up a low-carbon economic area in the south-west to promote marine technologies and money for up to 3,000 wind turbines off the UK's shores by 2020.

• £15m to establish a Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre that will develop the next generation of nuclear power infrastructure.

• £10 million will go to improving infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.

• Challenging 15 villages, towns or cities to be test-beds for piloting future green initiatives.

The shadow energy secretary Greg Clark welcomed the white paper, which he said was familiar since much of it borrowed from Conservative policy. "Over 12 years we have had 15 energy ministers, but no energy policy. Does [Miliband] recognise that while other countries have spent the last decade diversifying their supplies of energy, Britain has become even more dependent on imported fossil fuels – threatening our energy security, our economic competitiveness, and our climate change objectives?"

He added: "The secretary of state stands in a position of great moment. He must decide whether he breaks with the past and implements rigorously the measures that both he and I know are needed, or whether the next six months will prove, like the last 12 years, to have been a time of opportunity lost."

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, said: "If this plan becomes a reality, it will create hundreds of thousands of green jobs and make Britain a safer and more prosperous country. This will be good for the British economy and, in the long-run, save householders money as we reduce our dependence on foreign oil and gas. Ed Miliband appears to be winning important battles in Whitehall. But it's crucial that these plans now get full cross-party support and more backing from the chancellor. The renewable energy industry is too important to become a political football and this strategy for green jobs deserves more than the current paltry sums being offered by the Treasury."