UK’s blueprint for a green revolution
From a couple of days ago, though definitely worth it. From the Guardian:
One in four British homes could be fitted with solar heating equipment and 3,500 wind turbines could be erected across Britain within 12 years as part of a green energy revolution to be proposed by the government next week.
The long-awaited renewable energy strategy, a copy of which has been seen by the Guardian, will say Britain needs to make a £100bn dash to build up its clean power supply if it is to reach its EU-imposed target of producing 15% of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.
The UK could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 20% and reduce its dependency on oil by 7% within 12 years if it conducts the massive overhaul of energy production and consumption outlined in the strategy document, according to the government.
So far, so good. The E.U. has taken the lead on responding to climate change – what will it take for other countries to do the same?
The proposals include:
- New powers to force people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes when they renovate them;
- A 30-fold increase in offshore wind power generation;
- New loans, grants and incentives for businesses and households;
- An area the size of Essex to be planted with trees and other crops to produce biomass energy;
- Forcing people to replace inefficient appliances such as oil-fired boilers.[...] In what would be the most ambitious change of energy policy in 50 years, the government says 30-35% of all electricity generated in the UK will have to come from renewable sources to meet the 15% renewable energy target set by Europe to try to stem the effects of climate change.