UK's renewables revolution starts to sweep away the cynicism

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http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/comment/2258545/uk-renewables-revolution-starts

James Murray

UK's renewables revolution starts to sweep away the cynicism

With Siemens and Mitsubishi the latest engineering giants to invest in the UK's renewables sector and more on the way, perhaps it's time to realise the low-carbon revolution is already upon us

BusinessGreen, 25 Feb 2010

At first glance, the recent announcement from the European Wind Energy Association that the EU is http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2258325/eu-hit-renewables-targets">on track to reach its target of generating 20 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2020 looks like it should be taken with a healthy pinch of salt. It just sounds a little too much like a footballer explaining why monogamy is an outmoded concept – after all, they would say that, wouldn't they.

But look at the study again and this upbeat prediction starts to look a little more plausible. The wind energy industry has little to gain from telling European governments it agrees with their belief that they are happily on track to meet renewable energy targets. If it genuinely felt we were falling short on the targets, it would call for more subsidies and looser planning rules to help ensure they are met – that tends to be what lobby groups are for. Instead, it reckons only six countries are falling behind schedule with their plans to boost renewable energy capacity, and that shortfall is likely to be offset by the sterling effort put in by Germany and Spain, both of which should exceed their targets.

This optimism was underlined by three separate stories today, each of which highlights the burgeoning health of the UK's renewables sector.

First, http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2258535/siemens-waves-investment-uk%20">Marine Current Turbines announced it has completed its second funding round inside two months, raising more than £8m in the process and moving ever closer to realising its plan of installing the world's first commercial-scale tidal energy farm off the coast of Anglesey in north Wales.

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