The document, ‘The Zero Carbon Switch: Joint Manifesto for Renewables’, highlights that up to a third of the UK’s ageing generating capacity will be decommissioned in the next five years, and that the country will become increasingly reliant on imported fossil fuels, with climate change remaining a serious threat.
The manifesto proposes 12 steps to help deliver targets. It emphasizes the need for leadership and delivery, combined with a long-term stable investment framework, reform of the regulatory regime to ensure delivery of low carbon measures and enable investment for expansion of renewable energy by 2020.
It sets out a pathway for the expansion of renewable energy generation up to 2050 and commitment to roll out of a smart grid network by 2030.
The steps also include: ensuring that local development frameworks conform with national planning policy, including the 2020 targets, development of a strategic plan for the delivery of key energy infrastructure, and introduction of a streamlined and properly funded accreditation scheme for micro generation and small systems technologies.
Other steps include: to establish a national business rates relief scheme for renewable energy schemes, improve access to funding for employers to provide vocational training places and ensure that any publicly-backed Green Investment Bank facilitates an improved flow of public and private capital.
The manifesto also proposes to introduce government backed low interest loans for initial capital costs of heat and micro-generation technologies, and creation of a coordinated mechanism to deliver energy efficiency.
Adam Bruce, chairman of RenewableUK, said: ”Reaching our 2020 targets will mean that the UK needs to increase seven fold the amount of energy we get from renewables.
”We are looking at a major change in our energy consumption habits, and to facilitate this change renewable trade associations have co-operated on a manifesto that offers a route map.”
