UK renewable energy generation grows by 27%

Renewable energy is growing rapidly in the UK, according to the 2012 update to the Renewable Energy Roadmap, published during Christmas week by Energy Secretary Edward Davey

The report released on December 27, showed significant progress being made on the rollout of renewable energy across the United Kingdom from July 2011 to July 2012, including:

• 27 per cent increase in overall renewable electricity generated
• 40 per cent increase over the same period in renewable electricity capacity
• Over 10 per cent of all electricity generated is coming from renewables
• 60 per cent increase of offshore wind capacity to 2.5 gigawatts – a 2010 report called the The Offshore Valuation showed how just 29% of the UK’s offshore energy could make the UK a net exporter of energy.
• Five-fold increase in solar PV capacity

The report shows that the UK is on track to meeting our first interim target on the way to the European target to source 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Edward Davey, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said “Renewable energy is increasingly powering the UK’s grid, and the economy too. It’s a fantastic achievement that more than ten percent of our power now comes from renewables, given the point from which we started.

“Right now, getting new infrastructure investment into the economy is crucial to driving growth and supporting jobs across the country. I am determined that we get ahead in the global race on renewables and build on the big-money investments we’ve seen this year”.

John Hayes, Minister of State for Energy, said, “Energy is crucial to our economic well-being, bringing in major investment and supporting jobs across the country. I firmly believe that a diverse energy mix is the best way to ensure our energy security. It is extremely encouraging that we have made such positive steps on renewable energy as part of that mix.”

The report also shows that in the last year the costs of many renewable technologies have fallen. For example, the cost of solar PV has fallen by 50%, with the technology now identified as a key technology in the report update.

Further reading

Energy bill in the spotlight?

The energy bill: industry reaction

Hayes omits onshore wind in keynote renewables address