Industry News-PRASEG Delivering the UK’s renewable energy targets

Delivering the UK’s renewable energy targets

Greater leadership on planning decisions for onshore wind farms from local councillors was one of the main points made at a seminar on Monday (November 2^nd) organised by the Parliamentary Renewable & Sustainable Energy Group.

The topic of the seminar was the delivery of the UK’s renewable energy targets and presentations were given by Sarah Rhodes, Acting Head of DECC’s Office of Renewable Energy Deployment, Maria McCaffery of the BWEA and Keith Anderson, Managing Director of Scottish Power Renewables.

Whilst the facts about current levels of renewable power generation were nothing new, nor the enormity of the challenge to reach the2020 targets, let alone the 2030 target, the speakers outlined the steps that are already being taken by government and what more must be done. Keith Anderson referenced the positive steps being taken in the US (tax credits) to encourage renewables, and the need to focus effort on delivering renewables now rather than spending too much time on the longer-term issues such as grid infrastructure (although these are important).

Maria McCaffery spoke of the need for government and the industry to blow away the myths about wind power often used by objectors across the UK, and to communicate the positive impact that wind farms bring to areas once they are up and running as well as the benefit to the UK economy.

Delivering 30% of the UK’s electricity from renewables sources by 2020 is the target, with the associated benefits of energy security and “green jobs”.….wind, biomass, tidal and wave will all have a part to play. We will have an idea of what the UK must do by 2050 when DECC publishes its Energy Vision in March 2010