by The Egg Man » Mon May 14, 2012 1:04 pm
Green Party 2010 Manifesto on Energy
Energy
Reducing demand, securing supply
We would:
•Prioritise the new 3 Rs: Remove, Reduce, Replace. First remove demand altogether where possible (e.g. by stopping the carbonintensive activity altogether, or by true zerocarbon technology); then reduce demand (e.g. by energy-efficiency measures); then switch to renewables for whatever energy need is left.
•Discourage use of fossil fuels by bringing back the fuel duty escalator, increasing duty in real terms by 8% per annum and through a series of other measures in this manifesto.
•In the longer run, introduce carbon quotas (see box on page 37) and protect low-income households, especially pensioners, from fuel poverty.Without these measures, ‘peak oil’ will disastrously undermine our social fabric.
•The private sector has not responded to the challenge of renewable energy with sufficient vigour and investment. We would introduce a massive programme of direct Government investment in largescale wind and other renewable generation, and investment in the grid, spending as much as £20bn over the Parliament and creating 80,000 jobs in installation and equipment manufacture.
•Require all major development plans and planning applications to show how they will contribute to carbon reduction targets.
•Aim to obtain about half our energy from renewable sources by 2020 and ensure that emissions from power generation are zero by 2030.
•Phase out nuclear power and resolutely oppose any new nuclear power stations. Nuclear power is expensive and takes longer to produce than renewable energies. In addition to its known risks, there is still no safe or affordable way of disposing of nuclear waste. Not permit any further investment in new coal-fuelled power stations.
•Encourage renewable heat and combined heat and power by levying a waste heat tax on new power stations and by helping councils develop heat distribution networks in suitable urban areas.Work to increase the adoption of biogas from organic sources such as agricultural and sewage waste materials, working with the water companies to build digestion plants.
•Oppose the large-scale cultivation of bio-fuels, especially in poor countries where they compete with land for food, or result in the destruction of tropical forests.
•Introduce stronger planning policies to support onshore wind, tidal, wave, solar and geothermal energy schemes, and help local planning authorities to make more consistent decisions. Give micro-renewables ‘permitted development’ status.
•Bring the electricity network and gas mains into a fully accountable public sector and develop them where needed for renewable energy schemes.
•Introduce smart meters and appliances.
•Enlarge and develop renewable energy feed-in tariffs paying premium rates for large and small producers of renewable electricity.
•Support Europe-wide renewable energy initiatives such as an under-sea grid for offshore wind and marine power, concentrating solar power plants in southern Europe and the North African deserts and the building of highly efficient long-distance high-voltage DC power lines.
Long, innit?
I hear the people sing.
