October 9, 2006
U.K.
U.K.
Plans to get 20% of UK electricity from renewable sources by 2020 are to be put out to consultation by Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling.
He will launch the process at the start of work on the £300m Whitelee wind farm, south of Glasgow on Monday.
Mr Darling says more energy will have to come from sources such as wind, wave, tidal and biomass technologies.
Ministers are also looking to increase the amount of smaller-scale, localised electricity production.
Tough target
The government will be seeking views from industry, investors and other stakeholders on the proposals for renewable sources contained in its Energy Review.
Mr Darling said: “The Energy Review found that if we want to tackle climate change and ensure the security of our future supplies there has to be a significant increase in the amount of clean, green electricity we produce from renewable sources.
“There is no doubt that reaching 20% will be tough.
“It means we must get more power from offshore wind farms and other emerging technologies like biomass and wave and tidal, while maximising the contribution from those technologies that are already being deployed.”
The Whitelee project will see 140 turbines built on Eaglesham Moor, which will make it the largest onshore wind farm in Europe.
It is claimed that it will generate 322 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 200,000 homes.
Construction of the Scottish Power wind farm will take three years to complete.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/10/09/green-electricity-views-sought/