London

Wind of change: the UK government has pledged to increase Britain's use of renewable energy. Credit: PA

Plans for a new UK Energy Research Centre and a dedicated facility to test ocean-wave energy are the highlights of the research component of Britain's energy strategy, published on 24 February. But experts have questioned whether these and other proposals have the political and financial backing to meet the government's goal, announced in the strategy, of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050.

The plans, unveiled in a government white paper on Britain's energy needs, recognize energy-efficiency measures and renewable energy sources as the principal means of cutting emissions. The paper sets a goal of having 20% of Britain's energy derived from renewable sources by 2020 and includes no plans for new nuclear power stations.

“It made a lot of the right noises, but did not identify any new policies committing the government to these goals,” says Paul Ekins, a professor of sustainable development at the University of Westminster, London.

Such scepticism is derived in part from a lack of concrete measures to help promote renewable sources. One exception is the publicly funded wave-energy test centre — the first in Europe — that will open this year off the coast of the Orkney Islands, Scotland. Costing around £5.5 million (US$8.7 million), it will assess full-scale wave-energy machines. “The site is vital for the commercial development of wave energy,” says Max Carcas of Ocean Power Delivery, an Edinburgh-based company that is developing a commercial offshore wave-power device.

Also highlighted in the white paper is a new UK Energy Research Centre, which will be established in the coming year. Details are still being finalized, but the facility is intended to act as the hub of a new National Energy Research Network, bringing together the strands of energy research funded by the government. The funding for the centre is expected to be £8–12 million over five years.

These projects will be complemented by an extra £60 million in grants to expand the use of existing renewable technologies, such as wind power. But this will take government spending on such technologies to only £348 million over the next four years — a figure that some feel is too small to meet the new emissions goals. Jeremy Leggett, chief executive of Solar Century, a London-based company that sells solar panels, says that the funding is an order of magnitude less than in other European nations such as Germany.

Others say that by rejecting nuclear power and not investing enough in renewable sources, the government has dodged the question of how to move away from using oil and gas. “The white paper shows a lack of courage to make the hard decisions necessary to move this country away from dependence on fossil fuels,” argues David Wallace, vice-chancellor of Loughborough University and vice-president of the Royal Society.