Archived press release

Campaigners call for renewable energy shake-up

22 April 2008

MPs were urged today by Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and Enoughsenough.org to support a crucial amendment to the Energy Bill which would encourage householders, businesses and communities to produce their own renewable energy.

Full page ads in three of this morning's national newspapers - The Independent, Times and the Guardian - use a football analogy [1] to depict the national shame of the UK's feeble performance in renewable energy compared with that of Germany. Germany has 200 times more solar power and more than 10 times more wind power installed than the UK.

The ads call for the Government to adopt legislation to give people a renewable energy reward .The secret to the policy's success is a long-term contract with the National Grid guaranteeing a premium price for all renewable energy generated by homes and businesses - also known as a feed-in tariff. This makes renewable technology significantly more cost effective to install.

A cross party amendment to the Government's Energy Bill, known as `New Clause 4: "Renewable Energy Tariff"', will be debated when the Energy Bill receives its Third Reading in the Commons on 30 April. If adopted it would provide a massive boost to the small scale renewables industry in the UK.

270 MPs, including over 100 Labour MPs, have signed a Parliamentary petition (Early Day Motion) asking for the Energy Bill to be amended to include a feed in tariff for small scale renewables, making it the second most supported petition in the current Parliament out of more than 1400 that have been tabled.

Friends of the Earth Economics Campaigner Dave Timms said:

"The UK's feeble performance on renewable energy is a national disgrace. If we want families and businesses to tackle climate change by investing in clean technologies such as solar panels for their homes and offices then they must get a guaranteed premium payment for all the renewable energy they generate."

"The Government must take this opportunity to amend the current Energy Bill to include legislation for a feed-in tariff. Countries, such as Germany, who have adopted this policy have raced ahead in generating renewable energy while also creating the green jobs and low-carbon industries of the future."

Greenpeace UK's Chief Policy Adviser, Benet Northcote said:

"The Government talks green but their policies are really dirty brown. The UK's renewable energy performance is shocking. We have the best potential for clean electricity in Europe, but we languish near the bottom of the table compared to other countries.

The Energy Bill doesn't do nearly enough to encourage clean energy. A Renewable Energy Tariff would help kick start the energy revolution we need if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change."

Chris Shaw of Enoughsenough.org said:

"Germany produces 15% of its domestic electricity from renewables while the UK produces just 5%. That's a big problem - but the solution is simple. Give homeowners and businesses an incentive to produce clean electricity and we could soon be matching the best in Europe."

Copies of the ad are available from Friends of the Earth press office.

The ad says: CLIMATE OWN GOAL SOLAR POWER:
Germany - 200 England - 1

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust