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UK Government should encourage on-site power generation
- 9 years ago (2015-07-01)
- David Flin
A report published by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said that the number of UK businesses that generate their own electricity is set to increase by 130 per cent by 2030. The report, Small Steps, Big Impact: Maximising the role of on-site generation in meeting our energy and climate change challenges, said that 14 per cent of the UK’s energy needs are currently met through on-site generation, and that output from the sector could increase to over 32 per cent. The report represents a boost to suppliers of on-site renewable generation technologies, such as solar panels, heat pumps, biomass boilers, and small wind turbines.
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Rhian Kelly, Business Environment Director at the CBI, said: “Tackling our energy and climate challenges will be as much about the smaller steps made by every business and household as well as the big infrastructure projects. On-site generation has the potential to help businesses, communities, and the environment, and must be supported and encouraged.” However, the CBI warned that although on-site generation can stimulate economic growth and make businesses more resilient and competitive, the length and complexity associated with on-site generation installation projects makes them challenging for small- and medium-sized businesses.
The report also said that there is a need for a clear and coherent government policy framework, warning that there is currently “a lack of clarity” around how on-site renewable energy policies, such as the feed-in tariff and the renewable heat incentive will continue to operate. The CBI said that in addition to announcing more details on the long term future of on-site renewables policies, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) should appoint a dedicated senior advisor for decentralised generation.
The CBI's recommendations come as the parliamentary Committee on Climate Change urged the Government to clarify how its clean energy policies will operate after 2020.