Westminster All Party Climate Change Group debate on renewables
The debate around renewables is still open. While they are accepted as being a key part of the energy mix and necessary in decarbonising energy the variety of technologies used to generate power has often been cited as being a barrier to increasing their use in the UK.
As part of its legally binding EU renewable energy target (EUTS), analysts have suggested the UK may need up to source 35-40% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. A high proportion of the UK's renewable electricity is likely to come from onshore and offshore wind, whose variability needs to be managed.
One week ahead of when the UK government is expected to publish its ‘Renewable Energy Strategy’, a new report Managing Variability, by energy analyst David Milborrow, claims that the UK’s grid could cope with the variable energy input generated from wind farms.
The UK can meet its targets of generating more than a third of its electricity from wind by 2020 without raising the risk of blackouts at an additional cost of £2 for every £100 electricity bill.
The report commissioned by WWF, RSPB, Green Peace and Friends of the Earth looks at the options already available to manage variability on the system, identifies solutions for the future and assesses ways to minimise costs.
Yesterday evening the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group (APPCCG) held a Westminster debate discussing the report findings and the many opportunities that exist for delivery of UK renewable energy targets and grid development and management.
The debate was chaired by Colin Challen MP, and the panel included Dr. Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change, WWF-UK, Chris Bennett, Future Transmission Networks Manager, National Grid, Dr. Keith Maclean and Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Scottish & Southern Energy.
The overall message from the panel was that using more wind energy is ‘do-able’. Countries such as Denmark and Germany have already ‘removed the myths’and have proved that a variety of sources can be used to generate energy and supply the network.
Chris Bennett spoke confidently that the ‘changes in transmission and to the national grid could and have already been made’. Similar to other commentators he noted that more “investment will be needed” and that the focus must be put on the ‘market to ensure the right levels of generation” is reached. He said that that they had “already started work on increasing the numbers of interconnectors with Europe and it is now that market questions need to be put on the table”.
Dr. Keith Maclean called for a ‘sensible discussion to be had around renewables and a real debate around capacity demand’. He noted that the ‘real thing to note is that renewables replace fossil fuels so in essence they are reducing emmissions’.
The complexity of the energy mix and how to reach supply is one the reasons that Maclean called for caution in “going all out in support of one technology or the other”. He said that he was “pleased that the government was looking at biomass and issues around storage”. He believes that “the real challenge is in the timing, getting everything right and delivering the policy, the investment and building of new plants for biomass, thermal and wind farms at the right time”.
One key point that he did raise is “the uncertainty that there is around small projects because of issues in relation to transmission charges. Smaller developers need to be able to show the bank that they can make a return on their investment and for this to be done DECC needs to use their powers under the energy act very quickly to make this happen”. His fear is that unless action is taken in this area soon there will be no investment for more small to medium generators going into the market”.
Unfortunately it was very hard to hear anything that Dr. Keith Allot from the WWF said. But from what we did record he said “there are other renewables out there and we need to look at marine, biomass and geothermal. CCS looks like a very expensive way of producing energy but the WWF will wait and see”.
Key points in debate:
•The WWF and members from the BWEA were pushing for wind as being the main solution members of the panel kept repeating that focus needed to be put on the mixed energy approach.
•Both Bennett and Macclean said emphasised the point that planning is an area that needed to be focused on and sped up.
•The panel agreed that both biomass and marine would have a lot to play in energy supply but to make this happen companies will need to receive more investment. In order to do this smaller companies will need to be supported in being able to demonstrate their ability to generate power and get it onto the network so banks and investors can explicitly see return on investment.
•The discussion around ‘capacity’ and ‘demand’ and what renewables such as wind, biomass, marine and geo-thermal must be clearer.
•The energy must start to focus on integration of smart grids, smart meters and smart tariff plans for customers.
Click here to read David Milborrow full report Managing Variability
The debate around renewables is still open. While they are accepted as being a key part of the energy mix and necessary in decarbonising energy the variety of technologies used to generate power has often been cited as being a barrier to increasing their use in the UK.
As part of its legally binding EU renewable energy target (EUTS), analysts have suggested the UK may need up to source 35-40% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. A high proportion of the UK's renewable electricity is likely to come from onshore and offshore wind, whose variability needs to be managed.
One week ahead of when the UK government is expected to publish its ‘Renewable Energy Strategy’, a new report Managing Variability, by energy analyst David Milborrow, claims that the UK’s grid could cope with the variable energy input generated from wind farms.
The UK can meet its targets of generating more than a third of its electricity from wind by 2020 without raising the risk of blackouts at an additional cost of £2 for every £100 electricity bill.
The report commissioned by WWF, RSPB, Green Peace and Friends of the Earth looks at the options already available to manage variability on the system, identifies solutions for the future and assesses ways to minimise costs.
Yesterday evening the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group (APPCCG) held a Westminster debate discussing the report findings and the many opportunities that exist for delivery of UK renewable energy targets and grid development and management.
The debate was chaired by Colin Challen MP, and the panel included Dr. Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change, WWF-UK, Chris Bennett, Future Transmission Networks Manager, National Grid, Dr. Keith Maclean and Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Scottish & Southern Energy.
The overall message from the panel was that using more wind energy is ‘do-able’. Countries such as Denmark and Germany have already ‘removed the myths’and have proved that a variety of sources can be used to generate energy and supply the network.
Chris Bennett spoke confidently that the ‘changes in transmission and to the national grid could and have already been made’. Similar to other commentators he noted that more “investment will be needed” and that the focus must be put on the ‘market to ensure the right levels of generation” is reached. He said that that they had “already started work on increasing the numbers of interconnectors with Europe and it is now that market questions need to be put on the table”.
Dr. Keith Maclean called for a ‘sensible discussion to be had around renewables and a real debate around capacity demand’. He noted that the ‘real thing to note is that renewables replace fossil fuels so in essence they are reducing emmissions’.
The complexity of the energy mix and how to reach supply is one the reasons that Maclean called for caution in “going all out in support of one technology or the other”. He said that he was “pleased that the government was looking at biomass and issues around storage”. He believes that “the real challenge is in the timing, getting everything right and delivering the policy, the investment and building of new plants for biomass, thermal and wind farms at the right time”.
One key point that he did raise is “the uncertainty that there is around small projects because of issues in relation to transmission charges. Smaller developers need to be able to show the bank that they can make a return on their investment and for this to be done DECC needs to use their powers under the energy act very quickly to make this happen”. His fear is that unless action is taken in this area soon there will be no investment for more small to medium generators going into the market”.
Unfortunately it was very hard to hear anything that Dr. Keith Allot from the WWF said. But from what we did record he said “there are other renewables out there and we need to look at marine, biomass and geothermal. CCS looks like a very expensive way of producing energy but the WWF will wait and see”.
Key points in debate:
•The WWF and members from the BWEA were pushing for wind as being the main solution members of the panel kept repeating that focus needed to be put on the mixed energy approach.
•Both Bennett and Macclean said emphasised the point that planning is an area that needed to be focused on and sped up.
•The panel agreed that both biomass and marine would have a lot to play in energy supply but to make this happen companies will need to receive more investment. In order to do this smaller companies will need to be supported in being able to demonstrate their ability to generate power and get it onto the network so banks and investors can explicitly see return on investment.
•The discussion around ‘capacity’ and ‘demand’ and what renewables such as wind, biomass, marine and geo-thermal must be clearer.
•The energy must start to focus on integration of smart grids, smart meters and smart tariff plans for customers.
Click here to read David Milborrow full report Managing Variability
