U.K. dangles green carrot to drive renewables revolution

The government last week released its long-anticipated renewable energy blueprint, outlining plans for a wide-reaching package of financial incentives and pledging to remove many of the technical and planning barriers that routinely dog renewable energy projects.

Speaking at the launch of the new strategy, which sets out how the U.K. plans to meet its target of generating 15 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the "green revolution" would result in a tenfold increase in the U.K.'s current renewable energy capacity.

Business Secretary John Hutton added that such a large-scale increase in renewables would not only help cut U.K. carbon emissions by 20 million tonnes but would also bolster U.K. competitiveness and lead to the creation of 160,000 new jobs.

"We will… maximize the economic benefit for the U.K. by creating a new generation of green collar jobs and making the most of our strengths as one of the world's largest manufacturing economies; a world-class center of energy expertise and a leading location for inward investment," he said.

Central to the new strategy, which is subject to consultation until September 26, is a huge extension of renewable energy incentives designed to encourage up to £100 billion in investment from the private sector.

Under the proposals, the existing Renewables Obligation (RO) incentive scheme for large-scale energy projects would be increased and its end date would be extended.

Renewable energy firms had been lobbying for the change, claiming that if the government is to meet its target of building 4,000 offshore and 3,000 onshore wind turbines investors need to have confidence that incentives will continue beyond the scheduled end date of 2027.

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