Renewable Energy Installer December/January 2016 | Page 6

News: Analysis
Leaked letter: UK to miss renewables target
Energy secretary Amber Rudd is facing damaging accusations that she misled
the public, following a letter leaked to The Ecologist predicting the UK’s impending
failure to meet legally-binding renewable targets
he letter, penned by Ms Rudd and sent to the treasury
chief secretary and foreign and transport secretaries on
October 29, sensationally reveals an alarming disparity
between DECC’s internal forecasting and its public
statements.
DECC’s own calculations predict a shortfall of 20 TWh (3.5 percent
of total UK energy production) against the UK’s target to generate 15
percent of its energy from green sources by 2020. The letter concedes
that, in public, DECC maintains the contrary view that the UK is very
much on track to reach required levels of renewable generation by the
end of the decade.
The UK runs the risk of facing legal action from both home and
abroad, plus large fines imposed by The European Court of Justice,
should the target it is legally mandated to meet not be achieved.
The energy secretary has attracted additional criticism for the
letter’s suggestion that renewable energy generated by other EU
countries operating in excess of their targets could be purchased by
the UK in order to overcome the production gap.
“There’s no indication that all this would be cheaper than
supporting renewables in the UK, which has Europe’s best and most
economic wind resource” said Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder.
T
This letter shows us the dark side of the
government’s incoherent energy policy in
full technicolour
“Given the reason for Rudd’s cuts to renewable energy support
was cost, you’d think that ought to be a prominent feature of any
discussion. Not only would paying other countries to build renewables
for us cost more, but we’d also be exporting jobs and industry.
“It rather looks like DECC are panicking, faced with the inevitable
consequences of the ideologically driven renewables cull – their plan
A. Plan B appears to be either to pay the fines or to pay another country
to do the job for us. Both options are short sighted and economically
illiterate.”
Greenpeace head of energy, Daisy Sands, added: “This letter shows
us the dark side of the government’s incoherent energy policy in full
technicolour. This is hugely shocking. But more deplorably, it is wilfully
hiding this from public scrutiny.
“Perversely, we see that the government believes investing in
renewable energy projects involving buying power from abroad is more
desirable than supporting home grown industries.”
The Solar Trade Association is calling for strong action on
renewable heat, which provides a particularly low proportion of the
UK’s total energy needs and makes one of the lowest contributions in
6 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
Spot the difference: The energy secretary’s revelation that the UK is to miss
legally-binding renewable targets is at odds with her department’s public
pronouncements
Europe. This must be made an urgent priority, it adds, given the need to
avoid a breach of legally-binding targets in just four years’ time.
“There is plenty of scope to strongly ramp up renewable heat
while providing a sensible framework to safeguard public investment in
the British solar industry,” said Leonie Greene, head of external affairs.
The plan appears to be either to pay the
fines or to pay another country to do the
job for us
“We are not on track to meet 2020 targets, investor confidence has
been severely damaged by recent policy chaos, the world is half way to
dangerous climate change – the UK does not have a minute to waste.”
“The secretary of state herself said she would rather meet the
target at home so why is she decimating our industry and looking for
electricity from overseas?”