Meeting energy targets

The latest East of England Renewable Energy Statistics, published by Renewables East in December 2009, show that the East of England has some 508MW of installed renewable energy capacity against a 2010 target of 820MW.

It is clear that there is a need for significant additional renewable energy generation facilities as a matter of urgency. There is also a specific need for additional recycled wood biomass facilities in the UK, as a sizeable proportion goes to landfill.

There are currently only a few dedicated power plants in the UK (either in operation or planned) that accept waste wood.

How can the region's renewable energy targets be met?

The region's targets are not technology specific but are for renewable energy as a whole.

The region, and the UK as a whole, needs a mix of new and existing renewable technologies and energy efficient measures as quickly as possible. The government has committed £500m to develop longer term renewables, such as biomass, offshore wind, wave, tidal and solar.

Within the region's 2010 timeframe for generating 10% of energy from renewable sources, the main technologies that can deliver significant amounts of renewable energy are onshore wind, biomass and energy from waste.  (This is based on what can be technically, economically and practically achieved taking into account such issues as national landscape designations, connections to the grid, road access and fuel availability.)

Other technologies like wave, solar PV and hydro are not in a position to make large contributions to the 2010 target, although  solar PV and wave technologies do have  the potential to make a contribution to the targets for 2020 and beyond.

What contribution would Thetford Renewable Energy Plant make?

The primary biomass fuel would be waste wood that would come from a range of suppliers including forestry sources (branches and tops); commercial and industrial sectors; and construction or demolition activity.