Government asks for green advice
The Government is asking for advice as to how it is going to meet its obligation that it play its part in the EU’s strategy to ensure that 20 per cent of its energy consumption must come from renewable sources by 2020
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The 283 page consultation document states that, “The European Commission has proposed that the UK’s contribution to this should be to increase the share of renewables in our energy mix from around 1.5 per cent in 2006 to 15 per cent by 2020. This would be a very challenging target”.
As regards electricity generation, it states that, “We expect the key growth to be wind power both on and offshore”. The document also mentions biofuels and other controversial ideas, such as, “Discouraging the landfilling of biomass as far as it practical”, “Helping the planning system, to deliver, by agreeing a clear deployment strategy at regional level similar to the approach established for housing”, and “Introducing a new financial incentive mechanism to encourage a very large increase in renewable heat”, which could mean subsidies but is almost certainly going to mean more taxes.
If you like or do not like what is being suggested, the consultation process ends on September 26th. Those concerned about cutting down trees can download both the full document or 24 page executive summary as PDFs, and register your opinions online at: http://renewableconsultation.berr.gov.uk