Social Innovation: 60 to 90 percent of the UK's Electricity Could Come from Renewable Energy

A new report released by the WWF this month states that the UK could be primarily powered by a safe and stable supply of renewable energy by 2030 and social innovation ideas without the need for new nuclear power stations. The UK has an opportunity to become a world leader in clean, renewable energy. The country is at a crossroads and needs to make choices which will determine whether it will continue depending on carbon fossil fuel power generation and risky nuclear power.

Between 60 and 90 percent of the nation's electricity could come from social innovation ideas of harnessing wind, solar, tidal and other sustainable sources, with the rest supplied via an international super grid and gas power stations. David Nussbaum, CEO of the WWF says, "It shows that a clean, renewable energy future really is within our grasp. Failure to commit to a high-renewable future would leave us facing the prospect of dangerous levels of climate change and high energy prices". The report has been welcomed by a host of businesses.

The rising cost of energy bills has become a major UK political issue as the Conservative Party has high social innovation ambition; it wants to be the greenest government ever. The WWF report says that backing renewable would create hundreds of thousands of jobs and new economic growth. "Investing in clean energy offers us a means to tackle the two most crucial market failures that now confront the world: the financial crisis and climate change" said Nussbaum. The question that we need to answer is, are we in the UK bold enough to do it?

The government needs solid, ambitious commitments and targets to drive investment in sustainable low carbon power generation and avoid locking the UK into a new generation of high emission fossil fuel plants. Around a quarter of the UK's ageing power generation capacity is due to close over the decade. Therefore, to ensure system security, the country needs significant social innovation investment in new electricity generation capacity and to reduce demand for electricity. The British government must also rise to the challenge of climate change, making sure the power sector plays its full part in meeting the requirements of the Climate Change Act. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has made it clear that UK power generation must be essentially carbon-free by 2030.

WWF is at the heart of global efforts to address the world's most important environmental challenges; it works to safeguard the natural world, tackling climate change and enabling people to use only their fair share of natural resources. It believes the way energy is produced and used has a massive impact on the world. Energy for heating, electricity, transport and industry accounts for around two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions. As well as driving climate change, fossil fuels can damage ecosystems, cause air pollution and have serious health impacts. The WWF wants to create social innovation and change by engaging with governments, businesses and consumers to create a sustainable, renewable energy system.

Photo Credit: nimishgogri