Industry figures believe the government has fallen short in the measures put forward in the Energy Review.

The government’s Energy Review has been described as disappointing by industry, with many stating that it does not go far enough. Announced on 11 July by trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling, the review endorses the building of new nuclear power plants, while also placing greater emphasis on the need for energy efficiency and on renewables to provide a larger proportion of the overall energy supply.

Measures put forward include:

  • developing a new Planning Policy Statement on climate change, to encourage the use of sustainable energy sources such as micro-generation and combined heat and power (CHP);
  • a review of the potential and challenges of distributed generation such as CHP, as an alternative or large-scale supplement to centralised generation;
  • a comprehensive review of the incentives and barriers that impact on distributed energy generation.
However, these measures don’t go far enough, according to David Strong, managing director of BRE Environment: “Significantly, the review does not restate a key conclusion from the 2003 Energy White Paper that the ‘cheapest, cleanest and safest way of addressing our energy policy objectives is to use less energy.’”

National Energy Foundation chief executive Tim Lunel, said: “The government has missed a chance to provide a level playing field for UK energy generation at local and community level.”

The Renewable Energy Association welcomed the endorsements of the renewable electricity target to 20% by 2020 and an increase in the biofuels target to 10% but called for government to back the initiative with effective policy measures.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor