The passage and bar chart above (cut from p.5 of the Plan) tell the story: there’s a *lot* to do if this target is going to be met. There’s plenty of detail I’ve still to dig into in the document published by DECC, but there are three headline areas of the ‘framework for action’:
- financial support for renewables
- unblocking barriers to delivery
- developing emerging technologies
As previously noted, onshore wind farms do not feature prominently in the new government’s strategy, at least by name. With the demise of the regional strategies which previously renewable energy development, it will be interesting to see whether local authorities will be given much incentive to grant planning permission for onshore wind.
Greater weight is given to offshore wind which is expected to be contributing considerably more to the renewables mix than onshore by 2020 (sorry I can’t be specific with the numbers but the piechart (p.11) showing the data is pretty much indecipherable). Marine energy and anaerobic digestion are also highlighted as emerging technologies, although any potential for significant contribution to the UK’s energy needs looks a long way off. One last observation (from this initial reading) is the subtle re-framing of the UK’s renewable energy policy. Climate change has not exactly been kicked into touch, but it is the last of the reasons mentioned in the report’s introduction, trailing behind fossil fuel depletion, energy security and the economic benefits of developing new technologies. Not so long ago, climate change was the “single most important issue we face“…
