From the mid 1990s renewable energy began to contribute to the electricity generated in

the United Kingdom, . Renewable energy sources provided for 9.4% of the electricity generated in
the United Kingdom in 2011,[1] reaching 34.4 TWh of electricity generated.
Interest in renewable energy in the UK has increased in recent years due to new UK and EU targets
for reductions in carbon emissions and the promotion of renewable electricity power generation .
Historically hydroelectric schemes were the largest producers of renewable electricity in the UK, but
these have now been surpassed by wind power schemes, for which the UK has large potential
resources.

OCEAN POWER :
Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity
from wave power and tidal power.
.[7] Funding for the UK's first wave farm was announced by the Scottish Executive in February 2007.
It is the world's largest, with a capacity of 3 MW generated by four Pelamis machines and a cost of
over 4 millionpounds.[8] In the south of Scotland,investigations have taken place into a Tidal
Powerscheme involving the construction of a Solway Barage, possibly located south of Annan.
To date, 2012, a Wave farm project to harness Wave power, using the PB150PowerBuoy has been
completed by Ocean Power Technologies in Scotland and is under development off Cornwall
at Wave Hub.
MICROGENERATION :
Microgeneration technologies are seen as having considerable potential by the Government.
However, the microgeneration strategy launched in March 2006
[15]

many commentators.

[14]

was seen as a disappointment by

Microgeneration involves the local production of electricity by homes and

businesses from low-energy sources including small scalewind turbines, and solar
[16]
electricity installations. The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006
is expected to
boost the number of microgeneration installations,

[17]

however, funding for grants under the Low

Carbon Building Programme is proving insufficient to meet demand

[19]

being spent in 75 minutes.

[18]

with funds for March 2007

FiTs (Feed-in-Tariffs, aka "Clean Energy Cashback") were introduced

from 1 April 2010 to support microgeneration of electricity. The Renewable Heat Incentive was
introduced from 28 November 2011 to support microgeneration of heat from ground source heat
pumps, solar thermal panels and biomass boilers, but only for non-domestic dwellings. The
Government has plans to extend the RHI to domestic dwellings in 2013. The delay of introducing the
RHI for renewable heat long after the subsidy for renewable electricity was introduced has dealt a
savage blow to the renewable heat industries.

ACTIONS TAKEN :

We are legally committed to meeting 15% of the UKs energy demand from renewable
sources by 2020.
To increase and accelerate the use of renewable energy in the UK, we have introduced:

Renewables Obligation (RO) provides incentives for large-scale renewable electricity

generation by making UK suppliers source a proportion of their electricity from eligible
renewable sources

Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) gives one-off payments to householders,

communities and social housing landlords to help them buy renewable heating
technologies like solar thermal panels, heat pumps and biomass boilers
UK Renewable Energy Roadmap sets out a plan for accelerating the use ofonshore
wind, offshore wind, marine energy, solar PV, biomass electricity and heat, ground
source and air source heat pumps, and renewable transport
Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation makes companies that supply more than
450,000 litres of fuel per year source a percentage from renewable sources
support for other renewable technologies, eg heat networks
Connect and manage network access regime and other actions to make sure new
generators can connect to the electricity network in a timely, secure and cost-effective
way
UKS new Electricity Market Reform proposals will also provide support for renewable
electricity generation from 2014 onwards.

Investing in new nuclear power

The aim is to have the first new nuclear power stations generating electricity from
around 2019.

National Policy Statements used to assess sites for potential new nuclear powers
stations
Regulatory justification a process to establish whether the benefits of new nuclear
reactor designs outweigh the health risks
waste and decommissioning arrangements to make sure operators of new nuclear
power stations put aside sufficient funds to pay for future decommissioning and waste
disposal
Generic Design Assessment used to assess the safety, security and environmental
aspects of new reactor designs