Here is a bite-sized review of the 30-point programme announced by the Government today, and the new initiatives contained within the Low Carbon Transition Plan:
THE POWER SECTOR
Around 50 percent of the annual emissions cuts between now and 2020 will be achieved by further greening of the electricity mix.
The Government expects 40 percent of the electricity consumed in 2020 to come from low carbon sources – 30 percent from renewables, the rest from nuclear (including new-build) and clean coal.
The Government says the UK needs to all but eliminate carbon from electricity by 2050.
New today:
1) Up to £6 million to start development of a ‘smart grid’, including a policy road map next spring.
2) DECC to take direct responsibility from Ofgem for establishing a new grid access regime within 12 months.
3) Launch of the new Office for Renewable Energy Deployment in DECC to speed up the growth of renewables in the UK.
4) £11.2 million to help regions and local authorities prepare for and speed up planning decisions on renewable and low carbon energy whilst protecting legitimate environmental and local concerns.
5) The final shortlist of the schemes for the Severn Tidal Power feasibility study is confirmed as three barrages (including the Cardiff-Weston barrage) and two lagoons. Three innovative schemes have also won funding to support their development.
6) A consultation covering the changes to the existing Renewables Obligation, such as extending the lifetime of the RO to at least 2037 and the introduction of a 20-year limit on support, to make it capable of delivering some 30 percent of our electricity from renewables.
7) Approval for the UK’s largest biomass power station on Teesside
HOMES AND COMMUNITIES
Around 15 percent of the annual emissions cuts between now and 2020 will be achieved by making the nation's homes more efficient and supporting small-scale renewable energy. There are massive cash savings to be made - in a poorly insulated home, up to £1 out of every £3 spent on heating is being wasted.
New today:
8) The Government aims to place the energy suppliers’ social programmes on a statutory footing with increased resources when the current voluntary agreement ends in March 2011.
9) Strengthening the energy regulator Ofgem’s powers to protect the consumer.
10) ‘Pay as you save’ pilots helping people make their whole house greener by using the savings made on energy bills to repay the upfront costs, backed by up to £4 million from low carbon investment funding. An eventual national roll-out could create 34,000 jobs.
11) Consultation on the shape and rates of a new ‘clean energy cash-back’ scheme (Feed-in Tariff), to be in place by April next year. People and businesses that generate their own electricity from low carbon sources will be paid for doing so. A similar scheme for renewable heat will follow in April 2011.
12) Extending the current CERT energy efficiency programme by a year to 2012. Alongside an uplift of 20 percent, total help under the scheme will total £3.2 billion.
13) A new personal carbon incentive scheme to challenge people on a voluntary basis to save energy, through the Government’s Act on CO2 campaign.
14) Challenging 15 villages, towns or cities to be testbeds for piloting future green initiatives.
WORKPLACES AND JOBS
Around 10 percent of the annual emissions cuts between now and 2020 will be achieved through greater efficiencies in our workplaces. By 2050, the UK's offices, factories, schools and hospitals need to reduce emissions to almost zero. Jobs and business opportunities will be created in new sectors outside the energy sector and help will be needed to support all businesses be more energy efficient.
New today:
15) Up to £120 million from low carbon investment funding to significantly advance the offshore wind industry in the UK.
16) Up to £60 million from low carbon investment funding announced in the Budget to cement the UK’s position as a global leader in wave and tidal energy including:
* Up to £9.5 million investment in the Wave Hub sub-sea socket off Cornwall and up to a further £10 million funding to make the South West the UK’s first Low Carbon Economic Area, a world centre for wave and tidal energy, building on business opportunities and skills.
* Up to £10 million for testing facilities at the National Renewable Energy Centre in Northumberland and up to £8 million for the European Marine Energy Centre in the Orkneys.
* Up to £22 million for a new Marine Renewables Proving Fund for testing and demonstration of wave and tidal technologies.
17) £6 million of funding to explore areas of potential 'hot rocks' to be used for geothermal energy. The deep geothermal resource of the South West of England alone could meet two percent of annual UK electricity demand.
18) A £4 million expansion of the Manufacturing Advisory Service, to provide more specialist advice to manufacturers on competing for low carbon opportunities, including support for suppliers for the civil nuclear industry.
19) A new Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre to combine the knowledge, practices and expertise of around 30 manufacturing companies with the capability of universities on manufacturing, processes and skills.
20) Campaign to be launched later this year to help small and medium-sized businesses in the shift to low carbon.
21) The public sector must lead by example. Emissions have already reduced by a third between 1990 and 2007 and DECC has challenged itself to reduce emissions from its own building by 10 percent in 09/10 with more to follow.
TRANSPORT SYSTEM
Around 20 percent of the annual emissions cuts between now and 2020 will be achieved by cleaning up the way the country travels. By 2050, road and rail transport in the UK will be largely decarbonised and aviation and shipping will have seen a significant improvement in efficiency.
New today:
22) Providing proposed detail on the kinds of electric and plug-in hybrid cars that could qualify for the £2,000-5,000 consumer incentives expected to apply from 2011. This includes the requirement for the vehicle to have maximum tailpipe emissions of 75g CO2/km. An update has also been published on the infrastructure framework that is supporting this scheme.
23) A new steering group for the freight and logistics industry to find effective ways of measuring, reporting and reducing emissions across the logistics sector.
24) Commitment to work with our European partners to develop a robust mechanism for regulating CO2 from new vans.
FARMS AND MANAGING LAND AND WASTE SUSTAINABLY
Around 5 percent of the annual emissions cuts between now and 2020 will be achieved by reducing emissions from agriculture, land use and waste.
New today:
25) For the first time ever, an ambition for agriculture to cut emissions. Changes to farming practices can save farmers money and contribute 6 percent cuts from current projections by 2020.
26) Support for anaerobic digestion, a technology that turns waste and manure into renewable energy.
27) Support for energy efficient and low carbon farming. Within the limits imposed by the current EU rules on state aid, the Government and the Carbon Trust will work to make farming businesses eligible for its interest-free loans for low-carbon activity.
28) Agreeing an action plan with the agriculture sector to reduce emissions and developing an advisory service to help farmers.
29) Encouraging private funding for woodland creation.
30) Reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill, and ensuring better capture of landfill emissions.
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