RENEWABLE POWER HOME-GROWN, LOW CARBON, DEMOCRATISING ELECTRICITY SOURCES


The UK electricity system is at a crossroads. It is the single biggest part of the UK infrastructure plan, because decades of under-investment means that new generating capacity needs to be built now to keep the lights on this decade. At the same time, we realise that we cannot just do more of the same. Our dependence on fossil fuels is not just damaging our climate, it is also leaving us exposed to volatility in international energy markets, which has been the number one cause of rising energy bills over the past decade.


Reducing our dependence - Renewable power, from water, wind and wastes, from sunshine, hot rocks and biomass - ticks a lot of boxes. It is all low carbon, it is mostly home-grown, and when we do need to import renewable fuel, we import it from trusted trade partners in Europe and the USA. Renewable power also doesn’t produce any waste, and decommissioning costs are minimal.


Increasing growth, reducing costs - We have seen excellent growth in renewable power in recent years, up to 15% of the whole electricity mix. This growth must continue to meet renewable energy and emissions reduction targets. At the same time, however,


we are aware of the need to minimise the costs of renewable energy policies. This means maximising the cheapest renewable power technologies first, whilst continuing to stimulate innovation and cost reductions in younger technologies.


More pragmatism, less politics - There are four technologies that can make a major additional contribution today: biomass, onshore wind, solar power and conventional waste to energy. These technologies all have three things in common: they are low cost, they can build quickly to bridge the looming capacity gap, yet they are all being squeezed out of the market.


Onshore wind and solar are suffering a political backlash driven more by the elements of the press rather than the electorate, biomass policy has gone into reverse due to misplaced sustainability concerns, and we’re sending millions of tonnes of waste overseas instead of using it to generate our own clean energy.


We need secure, affordable renewable energy and the next Government must ensure the policy and budgetary framework delivers this in a cost-effective and pragmatic way. Equally, targeted policy interventions are needed to secure investment and innovation in the technologies of the future, such as marine renewables, deep geothermal and advanced waste conversion.


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