26 Jun 2006 - Cardiff Bay, Wales
– The Welsh government has proposed an action
plan to encourage homeowners and communities in
Wales to produce their electricity and heating
from low carbon technologies.
The new action plan could dramatically
reduce Wales’ carbon dioxide emissions and pave
the way for every homeowner to produce their own
energy through installing affordable small-scale
heat and/or electricity systems, known as micro-generation.
Micro-generation includes a
suite of technologies including solar (photovoltaics
to provide electricity and thermal to provide
hot water), biomass, combined heat and power systems,
biofuels, and micro-hydro (powered by water) and
micro–wind technologies.
"We must reduce our dependence
on fossil fuels and produce energy from alternative
low carbon sources in a way that ensures we are
not simply displacing the emissions to another
part of the world,” said Morgan Parry, Head of
WWF Wales.
“Putting a wind turbine on your
roof, adding solar panels or replacing old boilers
with new efficient heating systems will not only
help reduce Wales’ carbon emissions and mitigate
climate change but it will allow home owners to
make major savings on their utility bills.”
In additon to the government
proposals, WWF Wales has submitted its own recommendations,
which includes setting targets for the number
of homes supplied by microgeneration technologies
over the next five years; urgently reviewing planning
policy and guidance to increase the proportion
of new build with on-site micro-generation; support
a major flagship project which demonstrates political
will to promote and maximise micro-generation
technologies; and insist that developers of publically-owned
land — such as the Ely Bridge development for
900 new homes in Cardiff — install micro-generation
technologies, including a combined heat and power
plant.
WWF research has suggested that
micro-generation could provide 5 per cent of the
United Kingdom's electricity supply by 2025. Similarly,
research by the Energy Saving Trust suggests that
30–40 per cent of the UK’s total electricity needs
could be met through micro-generation by 2050.
At present there are only 85,000
UK homes with any form of micro-generation, most
of them involving solar water heating systems
on their roofs.
“We hope that the Welsh Assembly
will commit to actively promoting microgeneration
in the public sector and throughout Wales,"
added Parry.
"There are good examples
of organisations helping to raise public awareness
of these technologies, but it is clear that if
this localised production of energy is to succeed
the Welsh Assembly needs to provide additional
resources to fund and develop it further.
Another attraction of micro-generation,
according to WWF, is that by decentralising electricity
production it cuts the huge losses of energy that
occur in the transmission of power from remote
electricity plant.
“A high proportion of energy
generated at power stations is lost before it
reaches the home, so making electricity where
it is used makes good sense," said Parry.
Ruth Bates
