Archived press release

Government micro-generation plans: A small step in the right direction

8 June 2006

Government plans to urge all local authorities to include on-site renewable energy measures (micro-generation) in their local development plans to help tackle climate change, are only a modest step in the right direction, Friends of the Earth said today.

Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper said today [1] that "many local authorities are now adopting new requirements in their plans for on-site renewable energy in new developments. The Government is now urging all local authorities to do the same and will include this request in the new planning policy guidance on climate change due out later this year."

Friends of the Earth is disappointed that the Government did not go further. It should have

• insisted - rather than urged - local authorities to include on-site renewable energy measures in their local development plans.

• specified that all new housing developments should supply the majority of their energy needs through micro-generation schemes and other renewable sources. All new developments should eventually be zero carbon developments.

Micro-generation systems - such as solar panels, small-wind turbines and renewable heating - have a key role to play in tackling climate change. They have the potential to provide over 100 per cent of a building's energy needs with clean, renewable energy. And any surplus energy could be sold into the national grid. More than half of UK carbon dioxide emissions, the main climate changing gas, come from buildings.

Friends of the Earth's planning coordinator, Hugh Ellis said:

"Micro-generation has a crucial role to play in tackling climate change. Over half of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings. Small-scale renewable energy systems, such as solar panels and heat pumps, could potentially supply the energy needs of every home in Britain.

"Today's announcement is a small step in the right direction. But the Government should insist that every new development meets the highest environmental standards, and that most of their energy needs are met through micro-generation systems. It's time the Government got serious about tackling climate change."

Friends of the Earth is also calling on the Government to back a new climate change law - called for by Friends of the Earth's The Big Ask campaign - obliging successive Government's to make annual reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. A new climate change law already has the backing of most MPs and 75 per cent of the public.
www.thebigask.com

Note

1. www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID=2167

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust