News | Energy Efficiency

http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/2619/

Environmental group Friends of the Earth says that small-scale renewables could meet 6% of the UK’s electricity needs if the Government ups the ambition of its feed-in scheme.

The Government’s feed-in tariff scheme, called the Clean Energy Cash-back, is due to be launched next April but is predicted to deliver only around 2% of the country’s electricity requirements.
But according to Friends of the Earth, raising the proposed tariffs to deliver a 10% annual return on investment instead of the current level of 5-8% would triple the amount of energy produced to around 25 TWh by 2020 – equivalent to over two Sizewell B nuclear power stations.
The costs would only be slightly higher, says Friends of the Earth. On the basis of the Government’s own figures, the current scheme will cost the average household an extra £2.37 per year, while upping the ambition of the scheme will only add £1.20 a year over the next four years.
Friends of the Earth and 30 other organisations and businesses including the Renewable Energy Association, British Retail Consortium, the Co-operative Group and Federation of Small Businesses have written to the Government calling for a much greater level of ambition for the scheme.
“The UK’s renewable energy potential is enormous,” says energy campaigner Dave Timms. “But the Government’s proposed Clean Energy Cash-back Scheme is far too weak – Ministers must increase payments to make it a success.”