SOUTH EAST FACES RENEWABLE ENERGY CHALLENGE

The region must double renewable energy electricity generated from wind, solar and wood power in the next three years to meet targets, says the South East England Regional Assembly.

The Assembly's concerns were raised at a regional low carbon conference in Southampton last week. In the past five years, the South East has reached 3% - or 350 megawatts - of electricity generated using solar panels, wind turbines and biomass (1) such as burning wood chips for energy. But this needs to rise to 5.5% - or 620 megawatts - by 2010 to meet the region's targets.

Investment in renewable energy is encouraged in the South East Plan, a 20-year planning framework, but so far the region has only a small amount of onshore wind turbines and some good schemes are failing to get planning permission.

Assembly Chairman, Cllr Keith Mitchell, said:

"The South East is the engine room of the UK economy and should lead the renewable energy market. We have achieved some good results but can't afford to lag behind our target. The rest of the nation will look at our world class region for new developments. Ongoing public and private investment will be necessary to move towards a low carbon and sustainable economy. We need to ensure that good schemes are supported by local authorities if we want to contribute to mitigating climate change and diversifying our energy supplies."

Successful examples of South East renewable energy projects include:

• Reading, Green Park - large wind turbine providing energy to 1,500 homes and local business
• Little Cheyne Court (Kent) - new project which will be the most powerful onshore wind farm in the South East. It will generate clean electricity for about 30,000 homes in Shepway
• Didcot - burning of wood chips and sawdust is providing 'green power' to 100,000 homes a year
• Slough - heat and power plant is burning wood chips supplying electricity, hot water and steam for local business and residents.

(1) Biomass is a general term for organic fuels like sawdust, wood chips and agricultural waste, which can be burned to produce energy or converted into a gas and used for fuel. This process is carbon neutral because burning organic fuels only release back into the atmosphere the carbon dioxide they have absorbed while growing.

Contacts

Lesley van Dijk, Assembly PR Executive - 01483 555223

Heather Bolton, Assembly Communications Director - 01483 555220

Notes to editors:

1. The Assembly reviewed targets and guidance for renewable sources for the South East in 2005. Key policies are included in the South East Plan - a 20-year planning framework.
2. Electricity generation from renewable energy is monitored by www.see-stats.org, which is managed by TV Energy and funded by the Assembly for 2007.
3. The Assembly is a partnership of councils and communities in the South East region. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the region, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
4. The Assembly is made up of 112 members including elected councillors nominated by the region's local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations) as well as the New Forest National Park Authority.
5. The Assembly has six roles:
1. Regional Planning
   preparing and delivering the South East Plan
2. Regional Housing
   the Regional Housing Board decides housing investment priorities
3. Regional Transport
   the Regional Transport Board decides transport investment priorities
4. Advocacy
   pressing the South East's interests in London and Brussels
5. Accountability
   scrutinising SEEDA's plans and impact
6. Alignment
   co-ordinating regional policies and decisions.

Our vision is for a distinctive, outward-looking, accessible region of prosperous, sustainable communities, with a high quality of life and environment.

SOUTH EAST PHOTO LIBRARY

The South East England Regional Assembly's photo library MediaStore, gives everyone the chance to access images of issues affecting the region. MediaStore draws on the knowledge of the Assembly to provide you with images from all over the South East.

• regularly updated with photos covering topics from housing to transport to flooding
• easy to access and download
• fully searchable
• a wide variety of high resolution images
• there's no charge for this service, just credit the Assembly when an image is used.

To view images from across the region visit: www.southeast-ra-mediastore.co.uk

Last updated: 06 December 2007