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The Department of Trade and Industry has revealed its proposals
for the Renewables Obligation (RO) in a yet another consultation
paper. Energy Minister Brian Wilson said ‘I’ve
listened to the comments made in the last consultation and am satisfied
that these policies will encourage generation from truly renewable
energy sources’. ...MORE
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Windpower Monthly say the future ought to be ‘windpower
mostly’
The Government has announced a new PIU review of energy
strategy (see later), including nuclear strategy. But its support
for renewables still seems strong - it’s even allocated £1m
to tidal stream work, and seems keen on wave energy.
..MORE
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The Fabian Society has produced a very timely report ‘At
the Energy Crossroads: Policies for a Low Carbon Economy’ by
Gareth R Thomas MP and Stewart Boyle, as part of their ‘Second
Term Thinking’ series. It argues that greatly expanded renewables
and energy efficiency are the only way to meet the Kyoto targets
and beyond- and calls for a £1bn support programme for renewables,
backed up by a Renewables Tsar, to help get renewables to supply
25% of electricity by 2020. It also proposes a target of a 20% contribution
from Combined Heat and Power (CHP) by 2020. It sees NETA as having
failed miserably and calls for renewables and CHP to be given special
...MORE
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On one hand we have the likes of Sir Bernard Ingham claiming
gleefully that ‘I personally have stopped
66% of planning applications’.
And on the other Peter Hain, then Energy Minister, saying
‘we must move away from the "not in my back yard" attitude
that still prevails over onshore wind projects’. The battle
goes on. The anti-wind farm group Country Guardian has updated
their web site. They argue that "it
is the right of the people of Britain to enjoy both clean and safe
energy generation and an un-degraded countryside" and
claim that wind farms are the wrong option: see ...MORE
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Things are changing fast in the UK green power retail market.
The advent of the Climate Change Levy (CCL) means that most
energy supply companies are now focusing on making green power deals
with businesses and organisations- thereby giving them exemption
from the Levy. But most of the domestic consumer schemes are also
being honoured- although with changes, in preparation for the
Renewables Obligation (RO). ...MORE
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At the Science and Technology Select Committee hearings on wave
and tidal power, Dr James Martin from Scottish and Southern Energy
plc. noted that the hydro plants that were one of their main sources
needed extra funding to maintain and enhance output. They had been
doing that themselves, via their own investment programme, but warned
that they might not be able to continue, given that market competition
was becoming so fierce, and given that hydro was partly excluded
from eligibility for use by businesses seeking exemption from the
Climate Change Levy, and for counting against the Renewable Obligation...MORE
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PIU on Renewables
The Cabinet Offices Performances and Innovation Unit has
been looking at the future of renewables fifty years on, as part
of a wider study of resource productivity.
Although the final report is not due out until later this year,
some of the Units interim analysis has been made available via the
Web, which says ‘Energy productivity
is a specific case of resource productivity and measures output
per unit of energy input. Increased energy productivity is essential
if we are to address the challenge of climate change. The Royal
Commission Report on Environmental Pollution suggests that at a
global level we need a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide by 2050 if
we are to get back to 1990 levels. The PIU project will build on
current policy and set out what further measures will be needed
for the UK to play its part in achieving this global target’.
...MORE
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‘Given the UK’s abundant natural wave
and tidal resource, it is extremely regrettable and surprising that
the development of wave and tidal energy technologies has received
so little support from the Government’. That was one of the
main conclusions in the report on wave and tidal power produced
by the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee....MORE
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During the Select Committee hearings on Wave and Tidal Power, Peter
Hain, then Energy Minister, indicated his support for waste
combustion - possibly prefiguring its readmittance to the Renewables
Obligation. ‘I am as enthusiastic a ministerial
advocate as you are likely to find of clean energy and green energy
renewables. However, I do not think we can afford to avoid taking
advantage of the capacity for generation from waste. After all,
what else do you do with it? Just fill up the ground and produce,
in time, a lot of environmentally contaminated problems as a result
and a leakage of methane gas completely wasted. I have had quite
a lot of briefing and seen some of the companies that are developing
various uses of waste once all the maximum amount of recycling has
taken place, which has the potential for producing - and can actually
in present conditions produce -
very clean gas with either no emissions or limited emissions’.
..MORE
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progress still slow
The energy crops programme, of which much was expected, continues
to develop very slowly, as Chris Pym reports.
SRC Planting Grants
There were thirty-seven grant applications for the first year of
planting (2001 planting) in England (other arrangement apply elsewhere).
However, most of these did not proceed for various reasons, but
about fifteen did proceed such that about 250 hectares of short-rotation
coppice (SRC) were planted this spring...MORE
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UK Energy Minister Brian Wilson, recently visited California
to get information on the post-deregulation power crisis there.
He told the FT (FT 18 July) "My attitude is why should we spend
time looking into a crystal ball when we could actually read the
book". Ominously he was told by Californian utility regulators
that US generators honed their trading skills in mid-1990s in the
deregulated British market. They then took these skills back to
California,...MORE
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EU to give nuclear 1.23 bn euros ?
As we noted in Renew 132, the European Council proposals
under the 6th Framework programme 2000-2006 for European Atomic
Energy Community (Euratom) include an allocation of EUR 1.23
billion funding for nuclear research projects: EUR 330 million for
the Joint Research Centre’s Euratom activities, EUR 150 million
for the treatment and storage of nuclear waste, EUR 50 million for
other Euratom activities, and EUR 700 million for nuclear fusion.
Since 1991 no new nuclear reactor has been ordered in any EU country...MORE
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California’s Green Power retail market dies
Following the deregulation of the Californian electricity market,
just over 2 % of customers switched suppliers and most of this group
choose green energy suppliers. alternative providers, but the chaos
that has engulfed the market over the last year has meant, after
initially surviving quite well, the green power schemes have collapsed
or been withdrawn, with some green power suppliers moving out of
the state...MORE
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The reconvened sixth conference of parties to the Kyoto accord
(COP-6) met in Bonn in July to see what could be rescued following
the USA’s announcement in March that it no longer supported
the UN Climate Change agreement. ..MORE
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UK Nulcear Fight Back
The nuclear lobby is trying to resuscitate the nuclear dream-
in the UK as well as the USA. Just before the election, Peter Hain,
then still energy Minister commented ‘nuclear
is going to be part of our energy supply for the forseeable future.
The issue is going to be whether any private generators come to
the government and say they want a license to build a new power
station’. He added ‘Obviously
you would have to look at that objectively’,
although he indicated that he would expect any company involved
to...MORE
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6. In the Rest of Renew 133
In another special bumper 36 page issue, in addition to all our
usual news from Groups and analysis of events and developments,
the Feature looks at the land use implications of renewable
energy- part of our contribution to the PIU review. In our Technology
Section we look at Nuclear Risks and at Ground source
heat pumps. And in our reviews we look at the new UN World
Energy Assessment and at SERA’s analysis of Resource
productivity issues. We also reply to the Spectators ‘Lets
Go Nuclear’ editorial.
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