UK Could Get 6 Percent of its Energy From Renewable Sources by 2020

It now seems that some experts are claiming that small scale renewable energy could provide about 6 percent of all of Britain’s electricity needs by 2020. This is about the equivalent to more than two Sizewell B nuclear stations or the Drax coal fired plant. The Friends of the Earth say that this could happen if the government improves the terms of a new deal for producers due to be launched next April.

The Friends of the Earth used figures obtained from the Department of Energy and Climate Change for their environmental campaign. The stats were prepared by consultants Poyry and Element Energy to show that introducing a more ambitious scheme than the one currently proposed would add only an average £2.37 a year to household electricity bills over the next four years. This is simply a £1.20 more a year than what the government is already proposing to add to fund the scheme.

It has also been revealed that the decisions on the final levels of the feed in tariff, which will offer guaranteed, above market payments for electricity produced from technologies such as solar panels or wind turbines, have been delayed until January. Currently reports show that Britain is lagging behind other countries in introducing a feed in tariff, which has proved successful in kick starting renewable energy sectors all around Europe.

The Treasury and Ofgem are worried about the potential cost. They also have been lobbied by the nuclear industry, which of course dislikes renewable energy because it sees it as a competitor. Friends of the Earth, as well as other critics, are worried that the government’s proposed return on investment of 5 to 8 percent is far too low to really stimulate a mass take-up of the technologies by the public and businesses.