DECC renewable energy: we need announcements like this every 2 months for next 2 years
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has welcomed the announcement by DECC today of private sector investment in eight major new renewable energy projects and hopes that it will be the first of many.
Prof Roger Kemp from the IET said: "If the policy is to supply 15 per cent of total energy from renewables by 2020, this is a welcome step in that direction.
"At present, renewables supply about four per cent of total UK energy use and around another two per cent is already approved or under construction. The contracts announced today will add a further one per cent.
"Bearing in mind that to complete the final design, build and commissioning of a sizeable project takes three or four years, the renewable capacity that will be in service by 2020 will have to be given the go-ahead within the next two years or so - which means we need an announcement like this every couple of months for the next two years.
"A diverse range of low carbon energy projects needs to be accompanied by energy demand reduction and development of the underpinning electricity network infrastructure in order to create a fully functioning low carbon energy system for the 2020s."
