National planning policy should facilitate the replacement of aging onshore wind farms and the contract for difference auction process could be tweaked to support less established renewable technologies, MPs have urged in a new report.
In its report, entitled ‘Clean Growth: Technologies for meeting the UK’s emission reduction targets’, the House of Commons science and technology committee identifies ten key areas where the government is falling short on efforts to support low carbon technologies.
These include the closure of the ‘feed-in tariff’ (FiT) scheme for supporting low-carbon power generation and the cut to ‘plug in grants’ for low emission cars last years.
Other areas of concern identified include the absence of a consultation, promised for this year, on changes to building regulations to improve energy efficiency.
The committee makes a string of recommendations to get the UK ready to achieve the government’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
These include setting a national planning policy framework in place by the end of 2020 to facilitate the ‘re-powering’ of sites, which are already locations of onshore farms.
This is to ensure that such sites can be upgraded when the existing equipment, which was generally designed to have a 25 -year lifespan, wears out and must be decommissioned.
The MPs also recommend the government examines the case for supporting power purchase agreements and setting minimum allocations in future CfD auctions to support renewable technologies that are less well established than offshore wind power.
The report insists the government must review by the end of 2020 how the Smart Export Guarantee, which was designed to succeed the recently closed FiT, is functioning and if there is sufficient uptake of the new tariffs on offer through the scheme.
On the decarbonisation of heating, the report calls for the government to ‘urgently develop’ a strategy, including large-scale trials of different technologies, such as heat pumps and hydrogen gas heating.
The MPs echo the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendation that the government must bring forward to 2035 its proposed ban on the sales of new petrol and diesel engine cars and vans, which they say should be extended to hybrid vehicles.
But it warns against aiming to achieve emissions reductions simply by replacing existing vehicles with less emitting versions because widespread personal car ownership is not compatible with significant decarbonisation in the long-term.
The government should consider adjusting stamp duty so that it varies according to the energy performance of the home, the report says. It also recommends establishing a ‘Help to Improve’ scheme by July 2020 that offers matched funding and interest-free loans to homeowners to help cover the costs of energy efficiency improvements.
On nuclear power, the report recommends that the government decides on the future finance framework for new atomic plants by the end of 2019 but says this should be taken with a view to sustaining the industry rather than growing it.
And the MPs say the case for amending Ofgem’s principal objective to explicitly ensure that regulations align with the emissions reduction targets set out in the Climate Change Act 2008 should be considered.
Norman Lamb MP, chair of the committee, warned that the rate of deployment of several key low-carbon technologies is “significantly lower” than that required to meet the government’s net-zero target.
He said: “Although the government may be ambitious when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, it is not putting the policies in place which are needed to achieve those targets. We need to see the government put its words into actions.
“We heard of cut backs in various programmes and slow progress, which are incompatible with the UK’s two upcoming, legally binding, carbon budgets—this is unacceptable. If governments across the world fail to act, it will have dire consequences for the environment and generations to come.
Responding to the report, RenewableUK deputy chief executive Emma Pinchbeck, said: “This report is a clarion call to ministers to slash energy bills for consumers by unblocking the development of new onshore wind projects, as well as encouraging the redevelopment of existing sites with even more powerful turbines.
“The government’s commitment to net zero by 2050 is visionary: this report provides a road map to achieve it while keeping bills down, attracting investment and creating tens of thousands of highly-skilled new jobs”.
David Smith, chief executive of Energy Networks Association, said: “Today’s report highlights how our system of private investment has helped make Britain a superpower of renewable energy, with carbon emissions now at their lowest level since 1888.
“We need to build on that to ensure our country takes the smartest, most innovative and fairest approach to delivering net zero.”
Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive at the Renewable Energy Association, said: “Amongst a number of valuable recommendations, the report accurately highlights the need to focus on the hard to decarbonise areas of heat and transport. With the RHI ending in 2021 and no alternative route to market in place, we wholeheartedly support the view that decarbonising heat should be a top priority for the government.
“As well as this, emphases on ramping up the switch to electric vehicles through incentives and a review of the Smart Export Guarantee after a year of operation are policies that will benefit not only the industry but the wider public. We also recommend the introduction of E10 to further tackle the concerning levels of vehicle emissions highlighted in the report.
“We urge the new government to follow through on their promise to continue net zero preparation and adhere to the advice of the report as a minimum.”