News | Climate Change

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2068896/committee-climate-change-calls-renewable-energy-revolution

The independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC) will today release a major new report arguing that the UK should be able to deliver at least 30 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 as part of efforts to deliver deep cuts in carbon emissions.

The wide-ranging report, which was commissioned last year by Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, concludes that it would be "appropriate" for the UK to generate 30 per cent of its energy by 2030, and argues that the share could be as high as 45 per cent "depending on the extent to which renewable technology costs fall and possible constraints on deployment of low-carbon alternatives".
The report implies a rapid acceleration in the rollout of the UK's renewable energy capacity that would see the country meet its target of generating 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020 and then double again the proportion of renewable energy during the 2020s.
Speaking to BusinessGreen, CCC chief executive David Kennedy said that the recommended targets were demanding but achievable.
"Thirty per cent is not the maximum of what is technically feasible, it is what we think is appropriate given the economics and other factors," he said. "It will be challenging and it is not going to happen on its own."
The report calls for a mix of renewable energy technologies, including wind and marine energy, air and ground source heat pumps, and the use of bioenergy for heat generation.
It also outlines a series of demand management and smart grid technologies that would allow the grid to support high levels of intermittent renewable power.
Kennedy said that one of the top priorities for the government was to clarify the level of support that emerging renewable energy technologies can expect to receive and develop a clear strategy post 2020.
"If you take offshore wind and marine energy, they are very promising but it will take a couple of decades of government support for them to become commercially viable," he explained.
"Beyond 2020 there isn't any confidence in investors that there will be demand [for their products] and that means the investment climate is bad. If you are choosing to build an offshore wind turbine factory there is no long-term signal about what will happen after 2020."
Specifically, the report recommends that the government improve support for the renewable sector by allowing the Green Investment Bank to borrow from its inception, adopting a flexible approach to offshore wind targets from 2020, and delivering new commitments on funding for renewable heat investment between 2015 and 2020.
It also recommends stepping up efforts to ensure sufficient training and accreditation for renewable heat installers, and integrating the Green Deal and Renewable Heat Incentive initiatives so that renewable heat technologies can be funded using Green Deal loans.
In addition, the Committee again advises that the government takes a more cautious approach to biofuels, and insists that alternative approaches to decarbonising transportation, such as electrification and improved efficiency, should be urgently pursued.
Kennedy said that valid concerns remained about the sustainability of biofuels, noting that, with demand for food set to increase as the global population grows, it will be difficult to secure sufficient land to provide biomass for biofuels without significant technological breakthroughs.
The report envisages increased renewable capacity operating alongside nuclear and carbon capture and storage technologies, providing an illustrative scenario for 2030 where 40 per cent of electricity comes from renewables, 40 per cent from nuclear, 15 per cent from coal and gas with CCS and less than 10 per cent from unabated gas.