Low Carbon Conference at Tate Modern
The Government has announced it's policy for Renewable Energy. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has outlinned the Governments targets for Renewable Energy of 15% by 2020.
However, as was pointed out on the BBC News Channel, Gordon Brown arrived in his Priministerial Jaguar, that doesn't exactly have the highest of Green Credentials.
With Oil at $130 a barrel the UK economy is in great danger. Agriculture has a large part of it's inputs are fossil fuel based. There has to be a reduction in the dependency on OIl. Low Carbon Energy has to come to the fore. According to Gordon Brown, Britain could have a million people employed in environmental jobs in the next few years.
He also announced that all new homes must zero carbon by 2016 and commercial premises by 2019. Will this have an impact on Agricultural buildings?
There will be 3000 offshore wind turbines by 2020
Waste and Biomass energy is to be promoted, with barriers to access to the National Grid, so that surplus energy can be sold, to be reduced.
There will be incentives to install Low Carbon Energy Schemes. These will be announced at a later date. Will Defra utilise more of the National Modulation as the incentives for Low Carbon Energy?
The planning system is also to change so that renewable energy schemes are easier implement. Less of the NIMBYism slowing progress.
However, The devil is always in the detail and how it works at a local level. The government wants to spend the next 2 years talking about these green plans. Surely we need to start immediately investing in renewable energy. Will the new technology be cost effective to install. I'm sure that it will very shortly, especially if the oil price keeps rising at current levels.