Coal-fired
power stations are set to stay in Britain until well into the 2020s, as the dismal failure to increase
renewable electricity generation to necessary levels comes to light.
Green-minded consumers will now be required to
provide hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of subsidies to Britain’s coal
power stations, which senior ministers say are necessary to avoid future
electricity blackouts.
There could
be no better evidence for the total lack of ambition behind the government’s
policy towards renewables. The figures speak for themselves: Britain produced
just 6.5% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2010,
placing it third from bottom in the EU.
Percentage of electricity generated
from renewables in EU countries:
Meanwhile,
political will is driving a transition to renewable energy all over Europe. Denmark has a
thriving green energy industry, with 28,000 workers employed in the production of
wind turbines. This has radically transformed the Danish economy, and the
country is on track to run entirely on renewables by 2050 .
Germany is another success story, with 22% of electricity supply made up of green energy.
Locally-owned energy cooperatives account for half of this total, while in the UK the corresponding figure
is just ten percent.
