Wrong policy on renewable energy

We urge support for real feed-in tariffs for renewable energy and not nuclear power. British policymakers are poised yet again to ignore the dominant and most effective mechanism for promoting renewable energy across the world (feed-in tariffs) in favour of an auction system (Huhne promises 'seismic shift' to greener power, 17 December). This will replace the renewables obligation. The obligation is expensive, but allows good opportunities for onshore and offshore wind developers to set up schemes. The auction approach is tried and tested across the world (including the UK in the 1990s) and shown to consistently fail to deliver large capacities of renewable energy. We need a German-style system which offers open-ended opportunities to developers to take up contracts to supply renewable energy at good, guaranteed rates for 20 years, with rates tailored for different renewable technologies. Instead, in its electricity markets reform proposals, the government is proposing a thinly disguised design for channelling money from electricity consumer receipts away from renewable energy, especially wind power, and towards nuclear power. The government proposals are inspired by e.on and EDF to benefit nuclear power, which will crowd out renewable energy. This flies in the face of all independent opinion polls which show that the public wants its electricity payments to be reserved for renewable energy, not nuclear power. Dr David Toke Senior Lecturer in Energy Policy, Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham Emeritus professor David Elliott Professor of Technology, Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Design, Open University Professor Bryan Wynne, Professor of Science Studies, Lancaster University Professor John Twidell, AMSET Centre Leicestershire Professor Andrew Dobson, Professor of Politics, School of Politics, International Relations and the Environment, Keele University, Professor Keith Barnham, Physics Department, Imperial College London Dr Paul Dorfman, Warwick Business School University of Warwick Colin Challen Herbert Eppel Dr Richard Cowell Dr Peter Connor, University of Exeter Dr Candida Spillard Dr Ian Fairlie Paul Brown Antony Froggatt Senior Research Fellow, Chatham House Dr Xavier Lemaire