Archived press release

Government to announce extra support for renewables

23 September 1998

Energy Minister John Battle will tomorrow (Thursday 24 September) announce plans to increase the amount of renewable energy used by regional electricity companies. The announcement - marking the fifth set of Government grants for renewables (non fossil fuel obligation: [NFFO]) [1,2] - is key to showing how the Labour Government plans to achieve its target of supplying 10% of UK electricity generation from renewables by 2010 [3],thereby helping to tackle global climate change.

Under the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) the Government specifies how much renewable energy it is prepared to support, what the mix should be (i.e. how much must be from wind generation, biomass etc), and what price should be paid for it. Renewable developers then have to bid for NFFO contracts for specific projects.

Friends of the Earth wants the fifth NFFO announcement to support an increase in energy generation from biomass, on-shore wind energy and support off-shore wind and solar projects for the first time. However, FOE does not want to see any new grants for power from waste incineration.

Charles Secrett, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth said:
“Mr Battle's announcement of the fifth non fossil fuel obligation is an excellent opportunity for the Government to deliver on its environmental promises. We greatly welcome much stronger funding for onshore wind, biomass and,hopefully, off-shore wind and solar projects. These technologies for the future can provide jobs and prosperity now, and help the Government to meet its unilateral promise of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 % by 2010. They will also secure a stake for British business in growing export markets”

The Government has still to announce the results of its policy review into support for renewables in general and how to achieve its manifesto commitment of a unilateral 20%cut in UK CO2 emissions by 2010. Developing renewables, along with energy efficiency,combined heat and power and traffic reduction is key to achieving the C02 target.

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The non fossil fuel obligation (NFFO) was established by the Electricity Act 1989 and provides a guaranteed price and market for non-fossil fuels. This is the fifth NFFO order for renewables.Previous NFFO rounds were in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996.

[2] The current UK renewable target, set by the previous government, is 1500 MW. The target was doubled in 1990 following pressure from FOE. FOE has also published best practice guidelines for wind power developers, which were welcomed by the Welsh Affairs Select Committee report in 1994.

[3] FOE has calculated that the UK could meet its 10% target for a total investment cost of £5.8 billion over the period to 2010. This is considerably less than the Government would raise from an industrial energy tax. It has been calculated that this could create over 94,000 net new jobs, and would be key to developing a UK manufacturing base in renewables, particularly wind power. It will provide the UK with key export potential as the world will need sustainable renewable energy to avert threat of dangerous climate change. In addition to the NFFO, which should be used to help new technologies gain entry into the market, the Government will need to introduce a percentage obligation of 1% per year on electricity suppliers to supply electricity from renewable sources. This will act as a market support instrument for technologies, such as on-shore wind, which have already benefited from NFFO.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust