RenewableUK welcomes Huhne’s pledge to slash energy bills with new green measures

• Wind power and other green measures will cut household energy bills by 7% compared to relying on fossil fuels alone
• Government figures show the current cost to the ordinary household of support for wind power is 18 pence per week

RenewableUK has welcomed Government figures showing that as part of a package of green measures, wind power will help slash future consumer bills by nearly £100 compared to largely relying on non-renewable sources. In 2020, the cost to consumers of support for large-scale renewables will be less than £2 per week - just £48, or 3.5%, of an annual energy bill of £1,379 in 2020 – far less than opponents of renewables claim.

RenewableUK Chief Executive Maria McCaffery said: “It’s common sense that if you save fuel, you save money. Our existing power plants are reliant on increasingly expensive fossil fuels, and with more wind farms on the grid, we can use the free energy of the weather when it’s available, slashing our demand for costly imported gas.

“The figures in the Government’s Annual Energy Statement demonstrate this simple truth – that green measures, far from being expensive, can actually save us money. The 18p we’re paying for wind power now means our bills will be lower in the future – and we’ll have tens of thousands of new green-collar jobs, thanks to that investment.”

RenewableUK is the trade and professional body for the UK wind and marine renewables industries. Formed in 1978, and with 700 corporate members, RenewableUK is the leading renewable energy trade association in the UK. Wind has been the world's fastest growing renewable energy source for the last seven years, and this trend is expected to continue with falling costs of wind energy and the urgent international need to tackle CO2 emissions to prevent climate change.

The Annual Energy Statement is available on the DECC website at this address: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/aes/aes.aspx

The support mechanism for large-scale renewables, the Renewables Obligation, adds about £17 onto an average energy bill of £1260 (http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/about-us/economics-social-research/3593-estimated-impacts-of-our-policies-on-energy-prices.pdf, page 62). In the financial year 2009-10 onshore and offshore wind represented 47% of this cost (http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/RenewablObl/Documents1/RO%20Annual%20Report%202009-10.pdf).

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