Renewable energy stats out (From Salisbury Journal)
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Renewable energy stats out
9:32am Thursday 9th August 2012 in Rural Focus By Anne Connon
THE UK lags behind its EU counterparts when it comes to renewable energy generation, a new study has found. Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, has reported that, while renewables met 12.4 per cent of total energy consumption across the union in 2010 (up from 11.7 per cent in 2009) the share in the UK was a mere 3.2 per cent, ahead of only Malta (0.4 per cent) and Luxembourg (2.8 per cent).
Sweden topped the class, with 47.9 per cent of consumption met by renewable energy sources. Latvia (32.6 per cent), Finland (32.2 per cent), Austria (30.1 per cent) and Portugal (24.6 per cent) also showed impressive performances.
The results show how far we and many other countries have to go if we are to meet the individual targets set under the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive. By 2020, the EU as a whole must meet 20 per cent of demand from “green”
sources. The UK Committee on Climate Change, in its Renewable Energy Review 2011, projected a UK contribution of some 28-46 per cent by just 2030.
