Urgent New Government Measures Needed in Response to Stern
Solarcentury today urged Ministers to introduce new renewable energy support policies in response to the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change. Chief Executive Jeremy Leggett said "Sir Nicholas Stern's report is a very loud alarm wake up call to government to get serious about solar and other low carbon technologies. As we've been saying for several years, the time for a little policy tinkering here or a small grant programme there is now surely over."
Stern highlights the need globally for low carbon technology incentives to increase by 393% in 2025, alongside an assumed carbon price $25 per tonne of CO2, and the need for "strong deliberate policy choices by governments."
Solarcentury is today calling again for the following four "strong deliberate policy choices" to be considered by the UK Government as a matter of urgency:
First, the UK should adopt a Continental feed-in tariff mechanism of the sort that helped t...
Solarcentury and The Climate Clinic at The Labour Party Conference, Manchester
Solarcentury is delighted to be involved in this year's Climate Clinic, the conference within the political party conferences in Brighton, Manchester and Bournemouth. Party leaders, ministers, scientists, opinion formers, environmentalists, low-carbon associations, business leaders and the public have come together to debate the issues, spotlight the solutions and press for urgent action and vigorous political leadership in the arena of climate change. Together with members including Friends of the Earth, the Energy Saving Trust and Greenpeace, Solarcentury will be lobbying for political commitment to Climate Change at each event.
Putting the cost of solar into perspective
Developers are getting used to the idea that they just have to live with local on site renewable energy planning requirements. But there are still some commentators who believe that the "high cost" of micro renewables is putting an undue burden on the developer community.
The Government's Energy Review repeated the mantra that it is too early to move to low carbon building as standard, and that further "feasibility" studies are required on the costs and viability of different renewable solutions. This was surprising. Not for the first time, the Government is lagging behind best private sector practice. Increasingly, mainstream housing developers such as Barratts and St James are incorporating solar photovoltaic and solar hot water systems into new developments. Developers are recouping the marginal capital costs of these systems, typically no more than 2-3% of sale price, by selling properties at a small "green" premium.
Elsewhere in...