DTI Energy Cock-up
"New and Renewable Energy - Prospects for the 21st Century
Conclusions in Response the the Public Consultation" (January 2000)
Published by the UK Department of Trade and Industry as a result of the consultation document of the same name and the Supporting Analysis (March 1999) supplied by the Energy Technical Support Unit (ETSU), Harwell, the Conclusions reached by DTI do not embody a number of the significant Findings of the "Analysis of the Responses to the Consultation Paper".
As a result, the measures proposed for government - once again - are almost exclusively and unhealthily restricted to the generation of electricity. Whilst not wishing to denigrate this essential facility, there is a blindness towards the equally essential tasks of encouraging other forms of energy generation and also - significantly - establishing a supply of sustainable fuel for transport.
The question is, is this because of lack of knowledge, bloody-mindedness or just plain and simple incompetence?
It is quite obvious that Helen Liddell, Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe, has not done her homework because, in her Foreword to the Conclusions, she states -
"There was ... some considerable support for an Obligation on electricity suppliers to supply a specified proportion of electricity from renewable resources." She then devotes 80% of the Foreword to this specific subject, ending with "This is an exciting time for the renewables industry"
However, according to the "facts" reported in the Analysis of Responses, "almost 260 responses were received" (although a count of the respondents given at the end shows only 242), of which "about half have given specific consideration to the options for supporting the generation of electricity from renewable sources" ... and ... "More than 50 respondents have specifically expressed or implied a preference for continuing with NFFO ... arrangement" "The majority of these respondents ... come from the existing electricity industry."
This is very revealing - because less than 20% of respondents wish to further the vested interests of their industry, Ms Liddell, MP - misled by her Civil Service advisors in the DTI - spends most of her Foreword in heralding seven pages out of 16 devoted to a new, complicated and bureaucratic scheme involving "green certificates", price caps, buying out, transitional arrangements and spot, forward and derivatives markets. Considerable support? Even more to the point, "removal of legal and administrative barriers"? (Page 7) Could this be poetic justice for the electricity suppliers?
The fact that "About 20% of respondents from every area of interest expressed concern that the Consultation Document has not kept the UK more in line with Europe by giving a higher profile to the use of renewable energy for heating, transportation, combined heat and power and non-network connected electricity" (page 4 of the Analysis) is quietly shunted off to page 15 under "Supporting Programme, including research, development, demonstration and dissemination" raises the suspicion that there are influences being brought to bear that should not be there.
It is therefore evident that the feedback that there is "A too narrow focus on electricity" (the words of the DTI) and "There is a clear belief that the Government should adopt a more holistic approach and should assess and develop renewable energy options within the context of a wider energy and environmental strategy" has been ignored.
Perhaps this is what the renewables industry should be getting excited about!
The Conclusions, published at great expense to the long-suffering taxpayer, clearly fails to reflect the informed opinions of the respondents and therefore fails to give government the guidance so desperately needed.
Consider, for example, the section "Aims of government policy" -
assisting the UK to meet national and international targets for the reduction of emissions including greenhouse gases (but retaining the 51.82p per litre fuel tax on carbon neutral biodiesel, which saves three tonnes of carbon dioxide for every tonne used)
helping to provide secure, diverse, sustainable and competitive energy supplies (by "seeking to keep the level of Government intervention to a minimum" (page 3 of the Conclusions) and placing an Obligation on electricity suppliers to meet a 10% renewables requirement by 2010 (page 9) and to comply with a complex and labour-intensive administration system.
stimulating the development of new technologies necessary to provide the basis for continuing growth of the contribution from renewables into the longer term (by relegating energy crops to the medium term? Page 17 refers.)
assisting the renewables industry to become competitive in home and export markets and in doing so provide employment in a rapidly expanding sector (by limiting capital assistance of 25% to "demonstration projects" only - page 17 again)
contributing to rural development (whilst telling farmers that there is no more money available for diversification - Tony Blair, 3 February 2000)
To summarise the criticism, the Department of Trade and Industry has failed to acknowledge the valuable contributions made by all but the electricity industry representatives to the Consultation Paper on renewable energy resources.
Sad to say, this Conclusions in Response to the Public Consultation is riddled with anomalies and a confusion as to the state of the art. This has not been helped by the original ETSU report, which is also a number of years out of date in its knowledge of technology progress, nor by obvious failure to read and inwardly digest some of the responses to the consultation, let alone keep abreast of global developments in the energy field.
Firstly, the use of the word "competitive". Competitive with what? Presumably, fossil fuels.
Between December 1988 and January 2000, the price of crude oil rose by 160%. In the USA, the price of diesel fuel at the pump has risen from $1.36 to $1.95 between December 1999 and February 2000 - more noticeable, as the taxation is not so high as in the UK.
Nowhere in any of the DTI documents is this significant factor taken into account.
Common sense dictates that, when the price of a commodity is rising fast, what is not competitive today could be tomorrow. There is no evidence of this forward thinking being applied to DTI considerations whatsoever. A sense of urgency is worryingly absent.
Plans to increase the spending on research and development into alternative technologies - most of it having already been carried out in Europe and the USA - to £14m in 2000/01 are niggardly, to say the least. Compare this with the announcement in the Belfast Telegraph on 3 February that Fujitsu intends investing £29m to create 400 new jobs in Belfast.
In all, the UK situation regarding the provision for sustainable transport fuels is farcical - but it took a lot of investigation for the reason to be found.
The story is on www.biofuels.fsnet.co.uk/biocase.htm