How lovely (and how rare) to be applauding an announcement from the Government.
Not only has the newly appointed energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, just committed the UK to the 80 per cent cuts in greenhouse gases by 2050 that scientists say we need, but he’s also promised a feed-in tariff to support small scale renewable generation.

That’s brilliant news for everyone who’s got photovoltaics or a wind turbine and probably for the people who sell them too. If the experience of Germany, Spain and others is anything to go by, sales should soon be soaring and prices falling.

At last here’s some official action that recognises the role that local and small scale generation can play in the shift to a low carbon economy. It’s not just about the big power companies.

Miliband also recognised the significance of emissions produced by heating in the UK, and promised to make an announcement on that soon. Hopefully, there will be an equivalent incentive for home owners and landlords to install renewable sources of heat as well as electricity

Of course, these changes still need to be incorporated into the climate change and energy bills respectively, and it would be nice to see a timetable for the feed-in tariff. This strikes me as something where there should be cross party support. Let’s hope that the amendments pass swiftly and smoothly through and we move on from words to action. We’ll keep you informed of progress.

If you have a question about anything in the above blog, please ask it in the comments section below.