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The Prime Minister has been urged to commit the country to generating 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2020.
The Prime Minister has been urged to commit the country to generating 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2020.
The call comes from the British Wind Energy Association, which makes the claims about the delivery of wind and marine power in its submission to the Government's Energy Review.
The BWEA says wind power both on and offshore, wave and tidal stream and small-scale wind turbines can generate 21% of the UK's projected electricity needs.
On and offshore winds will play the leading roles, generating respectively 8.8% and 9.4% of projected UK electricity supply, with an additional 2.1% coming from wave and tidal power and up to 0.7% from micro and mini wind turbines.
The BWEA said these technologies alone could have a combined capacity of 28,000 megawatts in place by 2020 generating 78 terawatt hours of electricity - equivalent to the needs of …
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The call comes from the British Wind Energy Association, which makes the claims about the delivery of wind and marine power in its submission to the Government's Energy Review.
The BWEA says wind power both on and offshore, wave and tidal stream and small-scale wind turbines can generate 21% of the UK's projected electricity needs.
On and offshore winds will play the leading roles, generating respectively 8.8% and 9.4% of projected UK electricity supply, with an additional 2.1% coming from wave and tidal power and up to 0.7% from micro and mini wind turbines.
The BWEA said these technologies alone could have a combined capacity of 28,000 megawatts in place by 2020 generating 78 terawatt hours of electricity - equivalent to the needs of two-thirds of all UK homes.
If displacing gas-fired electricity generation, this would reduce gas imports by 14.6 billion cubic metres annually and avoid 32 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, while delivering major economic benefits to the UK of more than £16 billion.
The BWEA believes that maintaining wind's good progress onshore and delivering on the country's vast offshore renewable potential will be a key test of the Government's resolve to set the UK on the path to a low-carbon future.
BWEA CEO Marcus Rand said Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks made clear when he launched the Energy Review that he wanted evidence, not opinions, on the energy options.
He added: "This is the most extensive piece of work undertaken on the deliverability of wind and marine renewables and should provide him and the Prime Minister with the confidence to commit this nation to generating at least a fifth of our power needs from renewables by 2020.
"The arguments for doing so are compelling: huge public support, significant carbon reduction, increased energy security and affordable power delivered quickly by a dynamic and innovative industry ready and willing to deliver."