UK lags behind on eco energy

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/feb/24/greenbusiness.waveandtidalpower

UK lags behind on eco energy

The British government says it is committed to renewable energy and has signed up to the latest EU generation target for 2020 - but countries across the world are doing better. Tim Webb explains how lack of investment is holding us back

Tim Webb
The Observer,
Sunday February 24 2008

Almost two years ago, cranes loaded three red 'Pelamis' wave machines - named after a species of sea snake - on to container ships in the Orkneys. Their destination: the coast of Portugal. Nothing could be more symbolic of how the UK has fallen behind in the race to embrace renewable energy.

The bizarre-looking devices, developed by Edinburgh-based Pelamis Wave Power, use the force of the sea to generate renewable and clean electricity. They are the product of Caledonian engineering and innovation, having been designed in Edinburgh, tested in the Orkneys and built in Scotland.

Yet Pelamis Wave Power will soon launch them into the sea off the coast of Portugal, not the UK, to create the world's first commercial wave farm. Unlike those offered by the Portuguese, the paltry subsidies available from the UK government were not enough to make the new technology economic.

It's a story repeated throughout the renewable and clean energy sector in Britain. Despite all the talk from the government about being a world leader on climate change - not to mention all the wind and waves at the UK's disposal - its track record on delivering on these promises is not so impressive. Max Carcas, business development manager of Pelamis Wave Power, says: 'It was not our choice where we put the technology, it was the customer's. The customer has to get a return which is competitive. The UK talks a good game, but the action to deliver has been lacking.'

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