5. Power to the People : IPPR report

The Government must reject new nuclear power stations and reduce dependence on fossil fuels and instead encourage small scale energy production to cut emissions and tackle climate change according to a new report published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the leading UK think tank on the centre-left. The report, Power to the People, calls for an overhaul of energy policy to encourage a more decentralised system to provide heat and electricity much more efficiently. It says that household fuel production, combined with the rapidly improving economics of renewable energy like wind and solar, will mean that the UK can provide its energy needs in a secure way, whilst reducing dependence on fossil fuels and phasing out nuclear power. But to follow this path, IPPR says that Government will have to create the right market framework:

* energy policy must treat economic, social, environmental and security objectives equally, rather than the current obsession with liberalisation;

* market regulation must encourage a decentralisation of electricity generation and the efficient use of heat, rather than penalising it as NEA has done;

* ‘micropower zones’ could be set up to demonstrate the efficiency and security of a decentralised energy system;

* economic incentives to cut energy use and reduce carbon emissions must be stepped up, including an increase in the Climate Change Levy, mandatory emissions trading for the energy industry & consideration of a domestic energy levy.

The reports author, Chris Hewett, IPPR Senior Research Fellow in environment policy, said: "The 20th century energy system was all about building massive power stations to make cheap electricity. The next generation of energy technologies is able to generate power and heat more cost effectively in the homes and offices where we need it. Such a system is far more secure, flexible and clean than returning to the nuclear age or limping on with fossil fuels. The Government must design policy for this century, rather than pandering to the industries of the last".

The report says that the world’s energy industry is at a crossroads. ‘The combination of liberalisation, technological change and environmental pressures point towards the possibility of a decentralised energy model with a major contribution from renewables, more sophisticated demand side management and micropower technologies generating heat and electricity in the home’. This combination ‘could create an innovative, flexible low carbon, energy economy, allowing us to radically cut greenhouse gas emissions whilst maintaining high standards of living and protecting low income groups’.

Patricia Hewit, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, made her first speech on energy at IPPR’s Low Carbon conference last Nov. She said that ‘the ultimate competitive, low carbon market is one where everyone can generate their own power, for example through micro CHP and photovoltaics’, and the DTI was supporting a micro-CHP pilot involving up to 6,000 households, and PV in 32 projects, involving over 500 homes. And then there was the new PV demonstration programme, which should install PV ‘on around 3,000 homes over the next 2 to 3 years’.

Power to the People (£10.00) is available from Central Books, tel. 0845 4589911. Also see the Groups section in Renew 136..

Renewable Education

In answer to a Parliamentary Question on what plans she had to promote increased access to training in renewable energy-related disciplines in higher education, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Margaret Hodge commented ‘Higher education institutions are autonomous organisations which design and determine their own courses, in response to market forces. A substantial number of higher education institutions are offering a range of courses in renewable energy-related disciplines in the current academic year. The Government are keen to promote an interest in science and technology generally. Science Year (September 2001 to August 2002) will raise the profile of science and increase pupil engagement with science, particularly in the 10-19 age range. It aims to boost the take-up of science subjects post-16.’ See ‘Groups’ in Renew 136 for some new renewable energy courses at tertiary level, including T206, the new OU course ‘Energy for a Sustainable Future’, which starts in Jan 2003.