Energy and Climate Change written question – answered at on 24 January 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate his Department has made of the full system cost to the public purse of meeting the UK's contribution to the EU renewable energy target for 2020 through (a) nuclear, (b) carbon capture and storage coal, (c) onshore wind, (d) offshore wind, (e) tidal and (f) solar technologies.
holding answer
It is estimated that meeting the UK 2020 15% renewable energy target may require around 30% of electricity to come from renewable sources, but there is no target for the electricity sector, nor for individual technologies. Onshore wind, offshore, tidal and solar technologies are expected to contribute to meeting the target, incurring expenditure through the renewables obligation (RO) and feed-in tariffs (FITs) that have been defined by the Office for National Statistics as 'tax and spend'. Nuclear and carbon capture and storage coal are not classified as renewables and will not be able to contribute to the 2020 target.
The following table shows the estimated cumulative expenditure from 2011 to 2020 through the RO and FITs on onshore wind, offshore wind, tidal and solar technologies.
Technology | Expenditure through RO and FITs (2010 prices discounted to 2011) (£ billion) |
Onshore wind | 8.3 |
Offshore wind | 14 |
Tidal | 1.1 |
Solar PV | 2.5 |
Source: DECC calculations based on 2009 modelling by Redpoint and the lead scenario in the Final FITs Impact Assessment published in February 2010 |
This is based on 2009 and 2010 analysis of one potential scenario amongst many. The exact shares of effort between sectors and technologies will depend on how investors respond to the renewable financial incentives put in place, and the relative success in overcoming non-financial barriers to renewables deployment such as planning, supply chain and grid issues.
We are currently reviewing the level of support for all renewable electricity technologies under the RO, and will consult on any changes to RO bands this summer. As part of that process, we have asked our consultants Arup and Ernst & Young to provide updated assumptions on potential deployment and costs for each renewable electricity technology. The Government are also currently consulting on reforms to the electricity market, including options for a phased transition from the RO to a feed-in tariff for large-scale generation. Both of these developments are expected to change the Government's assessments of the total public cost of meeting the UK's share of the 2020 renewables target. The Government are committed to controlling the cost of increasing the deployment of renewable technologies and have brought forward the review of the renewable obligation mechanism.
Note that these figures represent the total level of public support(1). The Renewable Energy Strategy 2009 published lower public support cost figures based on the additional level of public support resulting from the increase in renewables ambition, on a different price basis.
(1) The costs of the renewables obligation and feed-in tariffs fall on electricity suppliers who pass them on to electricity consumers. In the case of FITs, public support costs are estimated in 'net' terms ie net of the value of electricity exported back to the grid.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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