Energy prices fall, green investment slows

As the price of oil, gas and coal has fallen over the past six months, planned investments in green energy development within the UK have slowed.

The world’s biggest green energy investor, Iberdrola Renewables, withdrew £300 million of planned funding in Britain’s green energy future yesterday.  The move equates a 40 per cent drop in investment, and has all but dashed hopes of reaching proposed goal of having 35% of Britain’s energy generated by renewable sources by 2020.

With only 5% of Britain’s energy currently being generated via renewable sources, reaching the 35% goal will require investment of an approximate £100 billion.

The credit crunch has also had its impact on green energy funding, with many companies no longer able to commit to their investment programmes.  Both Shell and BP have suspended renewable energy plans, including a £3 billion wind turbine project.

The government’s independent advisory body on sustainable development, the Sustainable Development Commission, still hold hopes for plans unveiled last month, to upgrade all 24 million UK homes to be near-zero carbon by 2030.  It is not yet clear how the slashed funding will affect these plans.

Source: timesonline.co.uk