LUXEMBOURG : October 21, 2008


LUXEMBOURG - Britain must remove bottlenecks holding back wind farms and other renewable energy projects as part of a drive that will create new jobs in green technologies, climate minister Ed Miliband said on Monday.


Britain is trying to work out how to meet its EU target of getting 15 percent of UK energy from renewable sources such as the wind and sun by 2020, compared to just 1.3 percent in 2005.

But dozens of windpower projects are stuck in the country's outdated and cumbersome planning pipeline, or awaiting connection to the electricity grid.

"We are clear we need to do more in terms of renewable energy," Miliband told Reuters at a meeting of environment ministers in Luxembourg. "That's an important source of potential employment, and we will only see renewables grow."

Miliband said Britain would promote renewables by trying to resolve problems with connecting wind farms to the grid, overhaul the planning system and improve methods of funding renewables by using a banded system of incentives.

"By acting on those three issues, as we'll be doing over the coming period, is one of the ways of increasing renewable energy," he said.

In an effort to circumvent local planning objections to unsightly wind turbines on land, the UK is looking at building more at sea. Last month it said it was considering plans to install 15,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind power by 2020 compared to 600 MW now.

"We're about to overtake Denmark this week in terms of gigawatts of offshore wind," he added.


AMBITIOUS TARGETS

Europe hopes to lead the world in battling climate change, with ambitious targets of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by a fifth by 2020, but the financial crisis has pushed the issue down the agenda and prompted calls for softer goals.

Italy shocked a summit of EU leaders last week by threatening to veto the plans if its industries were not protected, and a coalition of Eastern European states renewed complaints the plan will push up electricity prices.

But Miliband said fighting climate change could go hand in hand with boosting economic growth.

"Some people say we can't meet both economic issues and the climate change targets," he said. "I think that's wrong. There are ways these two can come together -- employment in new green technology being one example."

He said growth could also come from new technology to allow power stations to trap climate warming gases from coal -- known as carbon capture and storage (CCS) -- and from work to insulate British homes.

The UK plans to fund a demonstration project for the untested CCS technology, which captures CO2 and buries it underground, for example in depleted gas fields.

UK initiatives with industry contribute about 1.3 billion pounds a year to energy efficiency and home insulation projects.

"It's important, but a lot more work needs to be done on how Britain and Europe can lead on green technology," said Miliband. There's rich potential here."

(Editing by James Jukwey)


Story by Pete Harrison


REUTERS NEWS SERVICE