Renewable Energy - Minister keen on microgeneration

21/02/2008

The government is keen to identify ways to encourage the use of microgeneration, energy minister Malcolm Wicks has said.

According to the European commission the UK should be using renewable energy sources for 15 per cent of its electricity by 2020.

The current figure is well short of that mark and the government is planning a consultation exercise later this year as it looks to develop an effective renewable energy strategy, reports the Guardian.

Mr Wicks said the consultation would look at the large-scale solutions needed to meet the target, but that home measures, such as solar heating and wind turbines, would also be discussed.

"We will be looking afresh at microgeneration and any proposals to boost microgeneration … are ones we are open to consider," said Mr Wicks.

In Germany feed-in tariffs that reward people who utilise wind or solar energy have proved successful, but in the UK the only incentive currently available to homeowners is a grant from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

The grants, which can be worth as much as £2,500, can be spent on solar photovoltaic, wind turbines, ground source heat pumps, small hydro systems or solar water heating equipment.