UK expected to miss 2020 renewables target

The UK is in danger of missing its 2020 target to get 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources, experts have warned.

According to research coordinated by the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) on 11 EU member states, only three are on track to meet their targets: Austria, Italy and Sweden.

The “Keep on Track” report expresses “serious doubts” about whether Bulgaria, Germany, Greece and Portugal will hit theirs, while Belgium, Poland, Spain and the UK are expected to fail.

“It’s plain sailing for the 21 Member States who have already achieved their 2012 targets in 2011,” said EREC president Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes.

“However, there are worrying signs on the horizon as current growth rates are insufficient to meet the 2020 targets. EU Member States should create and implement predictable and stable legislative frameworks for renewable energy sources.”

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) echoed that concern, following the publication of a report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change last Wednesday. That provisionally showed renewables comprised 4.1 per cent of the energy mix in 2012, which the industry body said was behind where it needed to be.

REA chief executive Gaynor Hartnell said: “The UK has the most demanding target of all Member States except Malta, and much progress has been made from a low starting point.

“While we appear to have narrowly missed the interim target, prospects for getting on track to meet 15% in 2020 seem remote. The effect of a steep drop in lending decisions taken in recent years will manifest itself, there will inevitably be a hiatus with the closure of the Renewables Obligation and the Government seems to have gone lukewarm on renewable heat. The earlier than anticipated publication of strike prices is welcome but more work needs to be done to build investor confidence.”