It is sad to report once again that in the midst of good news on renewables coming in from around the world the UK is once again lagging behind. A previously unpublished report by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) suggests we will miss our 2020 energy targets and will only be generating 5% of our energy from renewables, instead of the agreed 15%.

The figures have been exposed by the Conservative party who are lambasting Labour for their lack of initiative on sustainable energy. Indeed, the numbers don’t look good for our government, who signed up to the 15% target with the European Union. If we fail to meet this percentage, we will face huge fines from the EU.

The DECC have been quick on the defence, claiming that the report is outdated and doesn’t take into account new strategy or measures outlined in the recent budget. “We are not relying on existing policies. We consulted last summer on measures to take us to our binding 15% renewable energy target and will be publishing our strategy this summer. This will set out how we intend to meet our share of the 2020 target,” said a DECC spokesperson last week.

It certainly doesn’t feel like new renewable projects are being announced thick and fast. Although the London Array will be a huge relief to Labour, we need more projects of this scale to be generating electricity starting within the next two years to get near our targets – which are perfectly reasonable considering we have the strongest winds in Europe.

On a more positive note the re-powering of Good Energy’s wind farm in Delabole is coming on nicely. More on this soon.

Green Energy Republic

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