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Queen Elizabeth II Lays Out Plans for Britain's Energy Future

November 14, 2007 | 2 Comments

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London, England [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] As part of her annual speech to Parliament outlining her policy priorities for the coming session, England's Queen Elizabeth II made clear her desire for the UK to create incentives for investment in renewable energy by announcing a new energy bill to be put before Parliament.

"My Government will introduce legislation to provide clean, secure and affordable supplies of energy"

--Queen Elizabeth II

Part of her plan includes legally binding CO2 emissions reductions. The bill would enforce reductions of greenhouse gas emissions of 26-32% by 2020 and at least 60% by 2050. The plan will also introduce a new system of five-year carbon budgets.

"My Government is committed to protecting the environment and to tackling climate change, both at home and abroad. A Bill will be brought forward to make the United Kingdom the first country in the world to introduce a legally binding framework to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. My Government will introduce legislation to provide clean, secure and affordable supplies of energy," Queen Elizabeth II said in her speech.

One of the major focuses of the bill, according to a British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) press release, will be expanding Britain's reliance on wind power. The BWEA believes that the industry will be able to meet a large amount of UK's demand for electricity.

"The wind industry is confident that it can generate around 27% of anticipated electricity demand in 2020, from the installation of up to 34,000 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity. Up to now, the UK wind industry has installed more than 2,000 MW of capacity, but there is almost 6,000 MW either under construction or soon to ‘break ground', including the 1,000 from the recently consented London Array, the world's largest offshore wind farm."

Other, Wind Power

2 Reader Comments

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1 of 2

gareth-simkins-73944

November 15, 2007

Perhaps some background research on the UK's political setup would have been wise before writing this article. The Queen's speech is written for her by the government and expresses the government's legislative intent for the coming year. She merely reads it as Head of State. The Queen herself has no "plan" for renewables and would not be in a constitutional position to implement any plan even if she did (although as a major landowner in her own right, she could certainly build a few wind turbines). The UK is an elective democracy with a monarch as figurehead ruler and is not subject to despotism.

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2 of 2

gareth-simkins-73944

November 20, 2007

Oh, she's monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not just England, I might add.

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