Britain 'needs more puff behind wind power drive'
Tuesday, 18 October 2005
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Britain has slipped down the league of countries measured for their commitment to wind power, according to a report released yesterday, one day before the Energy minister tries to trumpet the country's achievements in this area.
Malcolm Wicks will tell the British Wind Energy Association conference in Cardiff today that the Government "stands squarely" behind its ambitious targets for renewable energy. Mr Wicks will also announce that he has given the go-ahead for a large wind farm at a controversial site at Romney Marsh, Kent.
"I want to be clear - here and now - that renewables are here to stay and will continue to be a crucial part of the mix," Mr Wicks will say.
However, in a survey published yesterday by Ernst & Young, Britain is knocked off its top perch on the Wind Index run by the consultants. The top spot that the UK had held has gone to Spain, with the US second and this country third.
Jonathan Johns, the head of renewable energy at E&Y, said that investment in wind farms in the UK was suffering because there is no increase in the legal obligations put on electricity suppliers after 2015. Producers must raise the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources by 1 per cent every year, starting from 3 per cent in 2002, until this reaches 15.4 per cent in 2015. After that date, no further increase has so far been suggested.
"The industry needs certainty over a long time horizon. The momentum needs to be maintained. The length of the investment [cycle] here is greater than ten years," Mr Johns said.
He said that it takes some 15 years for investors to recoup their money from a wind farm, so a new target for 2020 was required. Currently, the obligation will remain at 15.4 per cent from 2015 to 2027, providing no incentive to add any renewable capacity during that time, he said. "Countries are starting to compete with each other, there are only a finite number of turbines made each year. There is more market risk in the UK than some other countries," Mr Johns said.
The Government's main target, which many doubt can be achieved, is to produce 10 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2010. To get there, it has placed legal obligations on electricity producers to use renewables to an increasing extent until 2015. Approval for the Romney Marsh wind farm is to be presented as part of the Government's programme to make sure these targets are met.
The facility, in the constituency of Michael Howard, the leader of the Conservative Party, will provide enough power for 32,000 local homes, from 26 turbines. The Government will also publish a study which, in contrast to the E&Y report, shows continuing confidence among investors in the renewables sector.
