Scotland achieves Europe’s biggest carbon reduction

Posted on June 12, 2013 by admin

Last week new figures were published by the Scottish Government which have revealed the strides the country is taking in reducing carbon emissions. Ambitious targets were set by the current administration; as with renewable energy generation.

The released statistics show that carbon emissions went down by 9.9% in 2011 compared to 2010. This is the largest reduction on record. In 2010, Scotland was responsible for 56.9MtCO2e (metric tonnes of carbon emissions) being released into the atmosphere. 2011 saw 51.3MtCO2e being released into the atmosphere – a reduction of 5.6MtCO2e. These results ensured that Scotland retained its position as the most successful EU-15 member state (the EU-15 is composed of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the countries of the United Kingdom) in reducing its level of carbon emissions. Over the period 1990-2011 Scotland has successfully reduced carbon emissions by 29.6%.

Unfortunately, despite the record breaking nature of these emission reductions Scotland was unable to meet the revised target for 2011 by a narrow margin of 0.8MtCO2e. The Scottish Government attributed this to a revision of the historical data which was used to set carbon emission reduction targets in 2009. Spokespeople for the Government stressed that the country has been successful in meeting the reduction target for the year in percentage terms. The failure to meet the target in terms of carbon emissions themselves was wholly attributed to the revised and thusly increased levels of carbon emissions between 1990 and 2009. Had these figures been un-revised the 2011 target would have been exceeded. It was emphasised that the 2020 carbon emission target is still absolutely achievable and as of this point in time the country will have to reduce its level of carbon emissions by 44% over the next seven years. Scotland is over halfway there.

Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish Government Minister for Environment and Climate Change announced the release of the data with the following statement:

‪“Latest statistics published show that Scotland is on course to meet our climate change targets.

“In 2011 unadjusted emissions fell by 9.9 per cent – the largest year-on-year drop since records began. They also show large decreases in greenhouse gas emissions in the energy supply, residential and public sectors.

“The long term trend shows we will achieve our world-leading target of a 42 per cent emissions reduction if we continue on the course we have set. I also welcome that Scotland continues to lead the EU15 on emissions reductions.

“Despite changes to the historical data on emissions, making this year’s target harder to achieve, we have come within touching distance of it, and the revised targets mean we will all need to focus our efforts in the future to stay on course.

“Whilst I am disappointed we have not achieved our climate change reduction goal for 2011 in carbon terms, we have met it in percentage terms – with a 25.7 per cent reduction between 1990 and 2011. If the baseline had not changed the target would also have been met in carbon terms.”

Responses to the information were perhaps somewhat muted but optimistic for the future. Dr Sam Gardner of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland commented:

“We recognise that this is due in part to complicated changes in how we count our emissions, but the headline of another missed target strongly underlines the need for the much tougher climate action plan – expected out later this month – that will drive down emissions year on year and give confidence that future targets can be met.”

There was further good news in other aspects of the countries long term energy strategy. For instance, nearly two thirds (65%) of homes in Scotland were ranked ‘good’ in terms of energy efficiency. This represents an increase of 15% since such data was last collated in 2007.

Additionally, Scotland is ahead of schedule in meeting the 2020 target for 100% of the country’s electricity needs to be generated from renewable sources. Provisional data indicates that in 2012 38.7% of Scotland’s electricity needs were generated using renewable sources. Given that the first marine and tidal tubine farms will begin feeding electricity into the national grid over the course of the next few years and the increasing prevalence and popularity of onshore wind then one one would expect the 2015 interim target of 50% of electricity needs to be generated from renewables to be exceeded as well.

Responding to these comments Scottish Government Energy Minister Fergus Ewing (who was involved in a round-table discussion with our Chief Executive Mark Wilson last week) commented:

“2012 was another record year for renewables in Scotland. Scotland also contributed more than a third of the entire UK’s renewables output, demonstrating just how important a role our renewable resource is playing in terms of helping the UK meet its binding EU renewable energy targets.

“We remain firmly on course to generate the equivalent of 100 per cent of Scotland’s electricity needs from renewables by 2020 – with renewables generating more than enough electricity to supply every Scottish home.”

With the Scottish Government also announcing increased support for wind power it is clear that the country is committed to carbon emission reduction and renewable energy. ILI (Renewable Energy) will continue to do it’s part in contributing to the fulfillment of these targets and keeping energy bills down for consumers by reducing dependence upon fossil fuel imports

ILI (Renewable Energy) at the Hypothesis Conference

Posted on June 5, 2013 by admin

We at Intelligent Land Investments (Renewable Energy) are delighted to announce that our Chief Executive Officer Mark Wilson will be appearing on the discussion panel of the Opening Plenary Session of the 10th annual Hypothesis Conference at Herriot Watt University on the 11th of June.

The Hypothesis Conference is being held on the 11th and 12th of June.

The Conference, which is being sponsored by the Scottish Government, will bring together attendees from more than 40 different countries to discuss hydrogen and fuel cells in-depth. Particular focus will be given to the role that Hydrogen Energy Storage will have on the Renewable Energy Industry over the next years.

It is expected that hydrogen storage will play an increasingly important role in the renewables industry as economies move away from traditional fossil fuel generation. For example, hydrogen has been touted as the transport fuel of the future. Increased use of hydrogen and battery power in automotive transport will be hugely important to meeting carbon emission reduction targets across Europe and the wider world.

Our CEO, Mark Wilson, will participate in the conference’s opening session alongside several leading political and industrial figures. The session will be chaired by Elizabeth Johnson, Director of the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association and Business Development Manager for Pure Energy. Other participants include Fergus Ewing MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Sue Bruce, Chief Executive Officer for Edinburgh City Council, and Paul Lucchese, President of NERGHY (European Research Association on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells), Project Manager at CEA (Commissariat á l’energie atomique et aux énergies alternatives) and co-author of ‘Hydrogen, the post-oil Fuel?’. A prestigious panel across the board.

We at Intelligent Land Investments (Renewable Energy) feel we have a complete familiarity with the issues facing the UK’s renewable energy industry in terms of grid access and capacity. There are renewable energy developments across the country that may not be able to proceed due to there being no available or economically viable grid capacity. But there are solutions available or being developed. Hydrogen could be a game changer for such developments; whether being produced to store energy for use elsewhere or being used as a transport fuel. Intelligent Land Investments (Renewable Energy) itself has a number of renewable energy sites under development where hydrogen is intended to play a key role. For example; in areas of the country such as the Inner Hebrides where grid access and capacity is severely limited. Such developments will be at the forefront of increasingly utilised off-grid solutions for renewable energy and will be essential to achieving both UK and Scottish Government renewable energy targets.

We are proud not only of our representation at the Hypothesis Conference but also the role we will to play in bringing it’s aims to fruition.

World’s first wave energy farm to be constructed in Scotland

Posted on May 29, 2013 by admin

Last week, at the AllEnergy Conference it was announced that the Scottish Government had granted consent for a 40MW wave farm to be constructed off of the North-West coast of the Isle of Lewis. This will be one of the first developments of this type and scale seen anywhere in the world.

It is intended that the wave farm will be connected to an onshore hydroelectric power plant on Lewis which was granted planning consent by the Western Isles Council last year. It is intended that the Oyster wave power machines will be installed over the course of the next few years once the necessary upgrades to the area’s grid infrastructure are completed.

Between 40 and 50 of the Oyster machines will be deployed at depths between 10 and 15 metres of water and will have enough capacity to power around 30,000 homes. Fergus Ewing announced the Scottish Government’s decision with enthusiasm:

“I am delighted to announce that Scottish Ministers have granted a Licence to Aquamarine Power to develop the largest commercial wave array in the world…

“The development of up to 50 Oyster wave devices off of the North-West coast of Lewis, when operational, will have the power to produce 40 MW of renewable electricity.

“This is another significant milestone for Scotland’s wave sector. With 10 per cent of Europe’s wave power potential and 25 per cent of it’s offshore wave and tidal power, the opportunities for Scotland are enormous.”

Reactions to the Scottish Government’s decision were almost universally positive. Niall Ferguson, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables made the following statement:

“This is a fantastic milestone for the Scottish renewables industry and this project will make a significant contribution to our energy mix once it begins generating.

“It’s further proof that we have become home to a world leading marine energy industry that is delivering jobs and investment to communities across Scotland.

“However, we can’t forget that this is the kind of prize that could be lost unless costs for projects on the islands are set at a competitive level.”

RenewableUK‘s Chief Executive Maria McCaffrey observed:

“This is a big step forward for the marine energy sector in the UK and especially in the Scottish Islands, which have a first-rate marine energy resource. Just last week we were told by a Government report that more needed to be done to reap the benefits that could be generated by marine energy projects in the Scottish Islands. Today’s announcement shows the interest industry has in the area, and we hope Government and industry can work together to overcome challenges and take forward renewables in the Islands.”

David Krohn, RenewableUK’s Wave and Tidal Development Manager commented:

“The Scottish Government’s announcement provides a substantial boost for the wave energy sector, in which the UK leads the world. This [...] will help to accelerate growth and generate further private investment in a technology which has enormous potential, as 50% of the total European wave energy resource is in UK and Irish waters. By kickstarting a further expansion of the wave sector, we can ensure that costs come down as quickly as possible, so that we can capitalise on our global pre-eminence.”

Lang Banks, Director of WWF Scotland stated:

“This announcement is a fantastic boost to Scotland’s marine renewables sector and will put Lewis firmly on the world map when it comes to wave energy. However, if Scotland is to rule the waves when it comes to marine renewables then it’s vital we quickly resolve the issues of grid connection and transmission costs to the Scottish islands.

“Alongside energy saving measures, wave power and other renewables have a critical role to play in helping Scotland reduce climate emissions, create jobs and generate export opportunities. With careful planning we can harness the waves and tides while safeguarding the nations’s tremendous marine environment.”

The granting of planning consent for the wave farm is good news for the Scottish renewables industry. It demonstrates synergy between government and industry and the potential of generating further electricity from Scotland’s water resources.. Scottish Renewables have the power to create jobs across the country and we at Intelligent Land Investments (Renewable Energy) are proud to be contributing to this with recently received planning consent for the first of our own hydro-power developments.

Scottish Windfarm Bird Steering Group launches tomorrow

Posted on May 22, 2013 by admin

This week sees the launch of the Scottish Windfarm Bird Steering Group. This is a joint partnership between the Scottish Government, Scottish Natural Heritage, RSPB Scotland and four of the countries major developers of large scale windfarms: Vattenfall, RES, SSE and ScottishPower Renewables. All four of these groups will be contributing funding to the Steering Group which will be studying interactions between windfarms and bird populations.

The Scottish Windfarm Bird Steering Group will be conducting research for the next four years. For the first time data from several operational windfarms will be collated centrally for the first time. This will allow researchers to carry out in-depth study of issues such as population displacement, cumulative impact and collision risk as well as conduct a review of Scotland’s existing and extensive habitat management schemes.

Professor Colin Galbraith who will be the independent chair of the steering group will announce it’s launch tommorow at the AllEnergy conference in Aberdeen. He made the following statement:

“This new research programme is vital to help us understand the interactions between windfarms and birds across Scotland. It is particularly important, and significant, that the industry is working with the Scottish Government, SNH and RSPB to deliver this important initiative over the coming four years, which will help develop a clearer understanding of how to maintain bird populations alongside windfarms.”

Fergus Ewing, Scottish Government Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism commented:

“The Scottish Government is supporting this important initiative with a view to improving understanding of the relationship between bird populations and wind farms, and it is very positive that the group is already acting as a platform for dialogue and cooperation between the wind industry, conservation groups and Government.

“By reducing uncertainty around such an important environmental issue, the group’s work is supporting a good practise agenda, and our drive for well informed decision making.”

Aedan Smith, Head of Planning and Development for RSPB Scotland stated:

“We warmly welcome the practical support shown by these four companies to the work of the Scottish Windfarm Bird Steering Group. We hope that cooperation in this area between industry, SNH, Scottish Government and ourselves will get best value from data already collected, with the ultimate aim of a quicker, safer decision-making process for birds, base don the best available evidence.”

Joss Blamire, Senior Policy Manager at trade body Scottish Renewables observed:

“Over the last few years, the renewables industry has contributed more to research on birds than any other industry. This commitment to bird conservation has been reinforced by this further contribution from these renewable energy companies.

“Having a central hub for this data means the industry is joining the dots to give researchers a fuller picture of exactly how birds interact with wind turbines.

“The Scottish Windfarm Bird Steering Group is another good example of where industry, conservation groups and government can come together to share expertise and information that will lead to an improved understanding of how we build windfarms that will coexist with our natural environment and wildlife without negatively impacting on them.”

The establishment of the Scottish Windfarm Bird Steering Group is good news for the onshore wind industry for two reasons. Firstly, the long-term nature of the study is indicative of the Scottish Government’s commitment to onshore wind. Secondly, anti-wind turbine groups have long used overinflated claims about the impact of wind turbines on bird populations in attempts to discredit developments and dampen support for the industry. Meeting such claims with hard facts and evidence is the best way to address these issues.

British Public Support for Renewables Increasing

Posted on May 3, 2013 by admin

A series of surveys published over the course of this week has revealed that the UK public’s support of renewable energy has increased despite the concerted efforts of some elements of the media.

Firstly the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) published the latest in its series of Public Attitudes Tracking Surveys, these have been produced since March 2012 and this is the fifth edition. The survey polled over 2000 members of the public and revealed that support for renewable energy is the highest it has been since the surveys were first assembled – 82% of those polled are in favour of renewable energy, an increase of 3% since January 2013. Onshore wind, which has been the primary focus of several negative newspaper campaigns, also saw an increase of support. 64% of those polled in January 2013 were in favour of more onshore wind developments; in March 2013 68% of those polled were in favour. Furthermore the polled level of opposition to further onshore wind developments saw a decrease of 2%, from 13% of those polled in January 2013 to 11% of those polled in March 2013.

A spokesman for DECC was quoted as remarking:

“It suggests the media is really out of kilter with what’s happening in the country.

“Today’s figures are indicative of the long term support for renewables among the British public. This support comes from people’s experience on the ground as developers engage with communities and projects are delivered across the UK.”

Secondly, a poll produced by ComRes for RenewableUK has revealed the influence a politicians stance on wind power has on voters. 76% of those polled were either in favour of or neutral to wind power. 34% indicated that they would be more likely to support a pro-wind politician.

The poll also asked questions about the 2015 General Election. 31% revealed they would be less likely to support a political party due to an anti-wind power stance compared to only 27% who would be more likely to support such a political party. Female voters were revealed to be particularly supportive of wind power with nearly one in three stating they would be less willing to vote for a party which intended to remove support for onshore wind.

Maria McCaffrey, Chief Executive at RenewableUK commented:

“The countdown to the next national election is on, and these results show that those politicians who attack wind farms risk alienating important parts of the electorate – the very people who could decide the next election. We continually see high approval ratings for wind energy, and it’s clear that as voters go to the ballot box they keep that favourability towards wind. For the energy sector to secure the investment needed and to create tens of thousands of jobs over the next decade it’s vital that we see strong political leadership. Today’s results should encourage politicians to do just that.”

The results of these surveys suggest that despite the best efforts of some elements of the media they are failing to influence public opinion. Public support for renewable energy and specifically wind energy is increasing.

UK completes construction of world’s largest offshore wind farm

Posted on April 12, 2013 by admin

This week the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the London Array, finished construction in UK waters. This now means that both the world’s biggest onshore and offshore wind farms are now supplying electricity to British homes. The London Array was a joint project between Dong Energy, Masdar and EON.

The London Array consists of 175 individual 6MW turbines giving a total installed capacity of 630MWs. This will provide enough electricity to power nearly half a million homes or expressed another way two thirds of Kent’s housing stock. Additionally the wind farm will reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by 900,000 tonnes a year.

The completion of construction was announced with much fanfare. Richard Rigg, the Project Director stated:

“This is the final major milestone of the construction phase and the culmination of more than two years offshore construction work which began in March 2011 with the installation of the first foundation.

“It has been a complex operation but I am delighted that the commissioning of the wind farm has now been completed on schedule, despite the worst of the winter weather.”

Country Manager for Dong Energy‘s UK Wind Business, Benj Sykes commented:

“Building London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, is a great achievement.

“As we now look to our pipeline of future projects, Dong Energy is determined to drive down the cost of offshore wind farms to €100 per megawatt hour for projects we will be sanctioning in 2020.

“What we have learnt at London Array, together with our continuing focus on innovation in technologies and techniques, will help us achieve that.”

Tony Cocker, Chief Executive Officer at E.ON UK remarked:

“London Array is a significant achievement in renewable energy. The world’s largest operational offshore wind farm will be capable of generating enough energy to power nearly half a million homes and reduce harmful CO2 emissions by over 900,000 tonnes a year.

“It’s been a tough time for the team working on site. The recent bad weather and north-easterly winds have whipped up the waves preventing access to the site so this milestone is true reward for their hard work.”

Maria McCaffrey, RenewableUK Chief Executive released the following statement:

“Britain has a real achievement to celebrate here – the largest operational offshore wind farm in the world is generating clean electricity for British homes and businesses . It’s a monumental feat of green engineering. Other massive projects are also coming to fruition in UK waters, such as Teeside, Gwynt y Mor off the coast of North Wales and Gunfleet Sands off the Essex coast, where the next generation of even more powerful offshore turbines is being tested in the water for the first time anywhere in the world.

To hold on the UK’s global lead in offshore wind, it’s vital that we maintain this momentum. We must ensure that the crucial legislation going through Parliament right now – the Energy Bill – sets a rock-solid framework to encourage investment in renewables.

“If MPs get the details of the Bill right, we can unlock billions of pounds of investment for more flagship low-carbon projects like London Array, and create 76,000 jobs in the British wind industry by the dawn of the next decade.

“To secure those jobs, and to safeguard employment for future generations, we’re also getting the Government to articulate a clear vision of the scale of its amobition for the wind industry in the longer term, beyond 2020.”

The completion of Phase One of the London Array demonstrates the great strides the British wind industry is taking, delivering much needed growth and jobs to the British economy. The fact that the UK is now home to the world’s largest offshore and onshore (Whitelees wind farm in South Lanarkshire) wind farms demonstrates the existing strength of the industry. But the potential is there for far more.

Community Benefits

Posted on April 4, 2013 by admin

It is frequently the case that any mooted renewable energy development will also propose to establish a community benefit of some sort.

Most often this benefit takes the form of an annual charitable donation or annual funding given to a local community group to direct where it is felt to be most needed. Community benefits are often one of the most important aspects of any proposed development ;and certainly one of the most relevant to local communities. However, it can be argued that community benefits are frequently one of the less publicised elements of any development. Developers and, it must be said, Local Authorities often fail to successfully get their message across.Debate is often led up the path of spurious speculation on health rather than the concrete benefits developments can bring in these times of ever decreasing central and local funding

In our experience, the potential for community benefits to be lost in the debate over development is not helped by the fact that there is little consistency across Local Authority areas in how such funding is not just collected or administered but if it is even required. For some Local Authorities community benefits are collected and managed by the Local Authority itself; such as in South Lanarkshire. It may be the case that only developments above a certain scale are required to produce a community benefit. In some councils providing a community benefit is not considered to be mandatory. The lack of consistency between Local Authorities in the requirements for community benefits could be argued to be real hindrance to renewable energy developments in this country. Community benefits are often the most immediately palpable positive part of a development but their impact may be heavily diluted by a lack of public awareness or expectation. Perhaps if community benefits were more widely promoted by both developers and local authorities it would enable local communities to engage more fully with the arguments surrounding potential developments.

We at Intelligent Land Investments would like, at this time, to stress that all of our developments proposed, consented or constructed includes a community benefit regardless of whether one is required by the local authority. Frequently in cases where we are paying into a council managed fund we are paying more than required by that council. In all of the cases in which there is no requirement for a community benefit we sought out a local charity working widely within the local authority area of a development, helping the vulnerable of that community, ran by members of that community for the benefit of that community.

The Scottish Government has taken some steps to promote and publicise community benefits but more could be done.

The Community Benefit Register, launched last year, which can be found here provides details of all of the community benefits provided by constructed renewable developments. However it is not mandatory to register community benefits on the website let alone mandatory to provide them. More standardisation of community benefits across local authority areas could prove to be extremely beneficial. For instance making the provision of community benefits mandatory across the country would shift the debate from promoting their existence to promoting not just the good work they could fund but the good work they are already funding. We at Intelligent Land Investments feel that promoting such work would have more impact than promoting the difference in projected energy bill pricing between a renewables and fossil fuel based energy system.

A Good Week

Posted on February 28, 2013 by admin

Last week saw good news for us here at Intelligent Land Investments as we saw five of our sites gain planning approval over the course of a few days. This acceleration of sites coming through the planning process is the result of much hard work over the last year in signing up, assessing and making the case for our sites to communities and councils.

The five sites are in Local Authority Areas across the country including Aberdeenshire and South Lanarkshire; two areas of great wind resource, arable land and grid development. In total they add up to over a megawatt of renewable energy which will be constructed, connected to the National Grid and generating renewable electricity over the course of the next few months.

Good news for ourselves but more importantly good news for the farmers and landowners which we work with. The benefits of renewable energy should not be reaped solely by those landowners and developers able to develop large scale windfarms. The feed-in-tariff, as we are demonstrating, can be accessed by a much higher proportion of the population. People to which the revenue from a wind turbine, such as those consented last week, can be a game-changer At a time when the UK’s agricultural sector is coming under increasing pressure from poor weather, higher costs and reduced governmental support the work companies such as ourselves are doing can make a real difference for farmers across the country.

Good news for communities across the country as well as money from every one of these turbines (as well as all of our other sites) will be used to support community groups, projects and charities in every one of the Local Authority Areas in which we are operating. At a time when funding for such vital work is being squeezed we are delighted to be able to make a contribution.

Good news too for both the UK and Scottish Governments. We are contributing to both parliaments meeting their renewable energy generation targets along with the rest of our industry. Over the past few years Renewable Energy has been one of the few industries in the UK able to create both growth and jobs

The benefits that renewable energy generation can bring to farmers across the country were promoted by the NFU (National Farmers Union) in the run up to their annual conference this week. Noting that British agricultural yields and productivity have dropped to levels not seen since the 1980s (largely attributed to last years poor weather) it was revealed that in 2012 an estimated one in five NFU members produced renewable electricity on their land. The NFU is encouraging more of it’s members to explore the opportunites available to them:

“2012 was a difficult year for the farming community, with bad weather hitting incomes hard. Investing in renewable energy provides farmers and growers with additional earnings at a time when farm budgets have become very stretched.” – Dr Jonathan Scurlock, NFU Chief Advisor for renewable energy and climate change.

Maria McCaffrey, Chief Executive of RenewableUK received the news enthusiastically:

“Farmers are experts at harnessing the Earth’s natural resources, so it’s no surprise that they are leading the way on wind energy. The UK has the most powerful wind resource in Europe and this has provided a vital source of income for farmers, helping to preserve rural communities in Britain.”

It is our hope that the good news continues to come in, not just for ourselves but for all of our landowners.

A good week for Wind Energy

Posted on February 15, 2013 by admin

There was good news for the UK wind industry this week as a YouGov poll published in last weeks Sunday Times revealed that support for renewable energy remains extremely high with the British public.

The poll from the country’s most respected market research agency revealed particularly strong support for wind, wave and tidal power. For example when those sampled were asked which technologies they most supported for meeting Britain’s energy needs 18% of those asked backed wind power and a further 18% backed wave and tidal power. In comparison only 5% felt that further gas generation was the best solution and a meagre 2% backed an expansion of coal power generation. This is despite strong claims from some sections of the UK Government that a boom in unconventional gas could act as an economic stimulus for the country over the next decade.

Government support levels for renewable technologies have also been a contentious issue for some aspects of the British press with some outlets claiming that there is mass public opposition to schemes such as the Renewables Obligations and the Feed-in-Tariffs. However this YouGov poll reveals that 66% of those surveyed feel the government is entirely correct to subsidise renewable developments. Additionally 56% of people polled are strongly in favour of continued financial support for wind. These figures would seem to suggest that it is vested interests rather than the public who are unhappy with the expansion of renewable energy developments in the UK. Some press outlets have also maintained that people are particularly opposed to these developments happening in their own local area. Again these claims are not backed up the polling figures: 64% of people would be in favour of a large scale onshore wind development in their area, 72% would support a large scale offshore wind development and 71% would be in favour of large scale development of wave and tidal resources. In comparison only between 4-13% of people would oppose such developments.

The publication of the poll was received enthusiastically by Jennifer Webber, Director of External Affairs for RenewableUK:

“Each time one of these national polls is published we see the same message – resounding support for wind, wave and tidal, continued acceptance of financial support for them and understanding of the benefits. Government needs to focus all its efforts on realising the low carbon future people are calling out for – 78% of people polled chose a low-carbon source of energy as their choice for the future. To achieve the investment needed to secure people’s overwhelming request for a low carbon future, we need to see a signal from Government beyond 2020. The 2030 target would be a great way to achieve this.

Additionally, this week, a document published by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) revealed that the UK now has the third highest wind energy capacity on the continent. This is an improvement on 2011 when the UK was fifth behind France, Italy, Germany and Spain. 2012 has seen the UK leapfrog France and Italy now behind only the long established German and Spanish industries. In total the UK now has 8.4GW of installed wind capacity.

Maf Smith, Deputy Chief Executive of RenewableUK commented:

“The UK’s strong performance in the European league table reflects the growing importance of the British wind industry as a leading player. This proves the increasing significance of wind energy to the UK’s economy despite tough global economic conditions.

“The Government is calling for the UK to quadruple the amount of wind installed between now and 2020. The industry can achieve 31 gigawatts onshore and offshore by the end of the decade, but only with clear-cross party political support.

“We can attract billions of pounds worth of investment to the UK and create tens of thousands of jobs, but only if the signals from Westminster are right. The proof of this will be in the Energy Bill, which is due to become law by the end of the year. So the decisions taken by Government over the next few months are absolutely crucial for the UK’s wind industry.”

69% of all new European energy capacity came from renewable technologies underlining the consensus that exists in Europe about both the importance and potential of renewable energy.

Launch of Tory Pro-Renewables Group

Posted on January 11, 2013 by admin

Earlier this week, an influential group of Conservative MP’s , self described as ‘Progressive’, called on their party to fully embrace green policies and make them a cornerstone of the electoral campaign in 2015. The 2020 Group published a strategy document calling for the embracement of green ideas and the expansion of the green economy.

The 2020 Group has over 60 members including several high profile and influentiual figures such as the Energy Minister Greg Barker, Transport Secretary Justine Greening and the Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Letwin. The strategy document, entitled ‘2020 Vision: An Agenda for Transformation‘ was written by MP’s Laura Sandys and Claire Perry and outlines several policy proposals as well as emphasising the increasing importance of renewable energy sources such as wind, wave and tidal in protecting consumers from spiralling bills and price shocks.

The case has been made before but is worth repeating: increased renewable energy generation protects consumers by making the UK far less dependant upon imports of oil and gas. This in turn insulates the UK energy market and UK consumers from seemingly inexorable price rises on international markets.

The document continues to urge the UK Government to not fall down on the wrong side of history:

“In 2020 a new industrial revolution will be underway, accepted as the new paradigm for modern business practise. Business model terminology will have changed significantly by 2020. No longer will people describe companies as ‘green’ or ‘ethical’ – quite the reverse. Companies will be specifically described as fossil fuel companies and will be regarded as having archaic business models, greater insecurity in financial returns due to exposure to a widely fluctuating global market, and unethical in terms of values and philosophy.

“We will drop the word ‘renewable’ because renewable will be the norm. Ultimately, sustainable energy sources will be as much about economic efficiencies, resilience, and a modern economic model as it is about reducing our carbon emissions in the face of climate change…

“Never before has an economic re-alignment been supported by so many less than usual bedfellows. Organisations ranging from the CBI to the largest corporations such as Unilever, BAT, Siemens, Alstom and Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and church groups have all been supporting the need for very clear messages from government on decarbonisation… greening the economy is not ‘nice to have’, but a total necessity.”

The 2020 Group has been quoted as saying that the document will be the basis of further and expanded policies in the run up to 2015.

The launch of the paper has been enthusiastically greeted by the renewables industry. Maf Smith, Deputy Chief Executive of the trade-body RenewableUK released the following comment:

“This forward looking group of Conservative MPs has clearly articulated a vision which many of us share. Opinion polls show that they’re in tune with the majority of public opinion on the growing importance of renewable energy.

“We can build an escape route for consumers from the uncontrollable rise of fossil fuel prices by de-carbonising our energy supply and generating clean electricity from our own natural resources. It’s great to see an influential group of progressive Tory MPs going public in their support for this.

“The business is compelling not just in terms of reducing the long term cost of energy, but also in securing economic growth, as nearly 90,000 of us will be working in the wind, wave and tidal energy industries by 2020.”

It will be interesting to see exactly what further policies the 2020 group will be proposing but the very fact that a high profile collection of Conservative MPs is pushing for more renewable energy will surely serve to reassure investors and the UK’s growing renewable energy industries.