CONDUCT OF INQUIRY
9. The inquiry comprised four oral evidence sessions.
During the course of these sessions we heard from representatives
of the UK renewables industry, Regional Development Agencies and
Research Councils, together with individuals from organisations
involved in the transmission, distribution and supply of electricity.
We also took evidence from Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister for Energy,
BERR.
10. We benefited from an informal seminar at the
start of this inquiry. We would like to thank the UK Energy Research
Centre for hosting the event, and Dr David Clarke, Dr Rob Gross,
Professor Jim Skea, John Loughhead and the specialist advisers
for their participation. In addition, we undertook a visit to
Berlin where we spoke with policy makers and policy analysts in
the energy field. Germany is often held up as a role model for
the deployment and encouragement of renewable energy and we appreciated
the opportunity to explore what could be learned from their experience
and applied in the UK.
STRUCTURE OF REPORT
11. In this report, we first consider UK and EU targets
for renewable electricity production. We then discuss a range
of renewable electricity-generation technologies, and examine
available funding and support for technology research, development,
demonstration and deployment. Finally we consider barriers to
the deployment of renewable technologies - gaining access to the
UK electricity transmission system and current planning regulations,
for example - together with the potential for social scientists
to contribute to the renewables policy arena and the growing skills
shortage in this sector.
1 Department of Trade and Industry, The Energy Challenge,
Cm 6887, July 2006 Back
2
HM Treasury, Meeting the Energy Challenge, Cm 7124, May
2007 Back
3
Memo on the renewable energy and climate change package (Memo/08/33),
January 2008, Commission of the European Communities. Back
4
HM Treasury, Meeting the Energy Challenge, Cm 7124, May
2007, p14 Back
