Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reiterated, in his speech to the Labour Party conference, plans for “a 60% reduction in emissions by 2030… with plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by the middle of the century” and “a ‘Green Jobs Revolution’ that will help tackle climate change, provide sustainable energy for the future and create skilled jobs in every nation and region of the UK.”
He was echoing the words of Labour’s BEIS shadow secretary of state, Rebecca Long-Bailey, who said in her speech the previous day that Labour backed ”a diverse energy mix”. A report for the party recommended a seven-fold increase in offshore wind power to 52GW, along with doubling onshore wind power, and “almost tripling” solar power. The report also sought to eliminate fuel poverty.
Matt Rooney, engineering policy adviser, Institution of Mechanical Engineers:
“Labour’s new energy plan sets ambitious targets for faster decarbonisation, with a target of 85% electricity coming from low-carbon technologies like wind, solar and nuclear by 2030. Such ambition is to be commended. The focus on energy efficiency, which is widely regarded to be an area in which the country has fallen short, is also timely.
“However, the policy of mandating solar on ‘every viable rooftop’ is misguided. This is an expensive way of generating electricity from solar energy. It would be more efficient, and less expensive, to direct the same resources towards dedicated solar farms that can be more readily optimised to produce electricity and that will not require expensive installation costs associated with rooftop solar.
“The cost of solar panels have fallen rapidly in recent years, to the point that solar power can compete on cost with convention fossil fuel power plants. Whichever party is in Government should enable the roll-out of more solar capacity, but it would be a mistake to enforce an unnecessarily expensive method of production when cheaper alternatives are available.”
Emma Pinchbeck, executive director, RenewableUK:
“Labour is right to recognise that wind and renewables should be at the heart of a smart, low carbon energy system. Onshore wind is the lowest cost option for new power in the UK but is currently prevented from competing in the market, which means consumers will miss out on cheap electricity and billions of pounds of new investment across the UK being lost.
“Offshore wind can be the backbone of a clean, reliable and affordable energy system. Industry has set out plans to invest tens of billions of pounds in new projects and supply chains that will support over 27,000 jobs by 2030.
“We look forward to working with Labour as they add the detail to their plans, particularly on investment in supply chains to deliver this growth”.
Kate Blagojevic, head of energy, Greenpeace UK:
“Labour’s announcement today backing wind and solar to power our country would create an energy policy based on the cheapest and cleanest power sources. Together with vital improvements to home insulation, this would benefit the public and the planet as it would cut bills, create new jobs and reduce emissions, although there is still work to do for both main parties to dramatically cut carbon from transport. This announcement raises the bar, and if the government want to maintain their claim to being at least green-ish they will need to boost renewables on the same scale and abandon their obsession with fracking and out-dated, absurdly expensive nuclear reactors that taxpayers and consumers will be forced to pay for for generations to come.”