Microgeneration strategies

37. Microgeneration is the term given to the small scale production of heat or electricity from a low carbon source and includes such technologies as wind power, solar power, biomass and small scale fuel cells.[64] In March 2006 the UK Government published its microgeneration strategy, which identified a range of constraints affecting the widescale takeup of microgeneration technologies.[65] Inhibiting factors included cost, information and technical constraints, which the Department of Trade and Industry proposed to counter by using its programme of capital grants to ensure that electricity generated by microgeneration technologies is properly rewarded by the electricity supply companies, and by working together with the Welsh Assembly Government and local authorities.[66] The Welsh Assembly Government's own microgeneration action plan was launched on 20 March 2007.[67]

38. Our witnesses from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) expressed some doubt as to whether retrofitting existing buildings with microgeneration facilities was effective. CAT's Head of Research, Mr Peter Harper, said that in his opinion it was "probably a mistake" and "not something which should occupy too much of our minds at the moment".[68] At household level, Mr Harper recommended that the focus should be on energy saving and energy efficiency rather than microgeneration - to encourage households to move from being "energy obese" to being "carbon lean".[69] Rather, Mr Harper recommended that:

For old, existing buildings we should concentrate on bringing them all up to the present Building Regulations standard. ... When it comes to new houses, we can design them properly and introduce 10 per cent, or much more, on-site generation"[70]

Mr Harper emphasised that microgeneration was undertaken far more effectively at community level, with community scale wind farms and wind turbines, solar technologies, community combined heat and power systems, and by using local biomass resources.[71]

39. CAT told us that, at household level, the most efficient form of microgeneration for electricity generation was photovoltaics - solar panels - , "even though on paper it looks much more expensive".[72] When asked whether there was a role for Government in developing the demand for the domestic use of photovoltaics, Mr James Cass, CAT's Funding and Development Co-ordinator, told us:

... the most important thing that Government could do is ... stimulate the market and bring prices down.[73]

40. A further difficulty for householders in installing solar panels on their roofs is the shortage of skilled professional technicians qualified to install them. One of CAT's adult education programmes - a solar water heating course - essentially teaches roofing skills to plumbers and, despite being run five or six times a year, it is currently oversubscribed.

41. We agree with CAT's assessment that the current price of photovoltaic panels is likely to be a disincentive to their widespread adoption on a domestic scale, and we would support action by both the UK Government and by the Welsh Assembly Government which would stimulate the market - for example, via the planning process - and so lead to a reduction in the price of photovoltaic panels for domestic scale electricity generation. We note the shortage of skilled professionals qualified to install solar panels on roofs, which is likely to inhibit the takeup of this technology and which could be addressed by governments as an aspect of the skills agenda.

The Wales Institute for Sustainable Education (WISE) project

42. We took evidence on microgeneration and alternative technologies from representatives of the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) at Machynlleth, which we visited as part of our earlier inquiry into energy in Wales. Our subsequent Report praised the work undertaken by CAT but expressed disappointment at the level of financial support provided by UK Government to its WISE project (Wales Institute for Sustainable Education), which is to be part of the Centre.[74] Due to open in summer 2008, WISE promises "a state-of-the-art environmental education centre ... to educate a wide range of participants in the principles of sustainable development".[75] We understand that, of the approximately £5.4 million raised by CAT so far in support of the WISE project, only £42,000 has been provided by UK Government - far less that that provided by the Welsh Assembly Government, European Union funding, lottery grants, and donations by individuals, trusts and corporations. [76]

43. We continue to find the level of funding provided by UK Government in support of the Centre for Alternative Technology's WISE (Wales Institute for Sustainable Education) project disappointing, particularly given the Government's aims as set out in its microgeneration strategy.[77] We urge the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to reconsider the level of financial support it provides for this important project.

65   Our Energy Challenge - Power from the people, DTI Microgeneration Strategy, March 2006 Back

66   Q 35 Back

67   Microgeneration Action Plan for Wales, Welsh Assembly Government, March 2007 Back

68   Q 67 Back

69   Ev 44, 46 Back

70   Q 67 Back

71   Qs 67, 85  Back

72   Q 83 Back

73   Q 80 Back

74   3^rd Report of the Welsh Affairs Committee, Energy in Wales, HC 876-I Session 2005-06 Back

75   http://wise.cat.org.uk/wise Back

76   ibid Back

77   Our Energy Challenge - Power from the people, DTI Microgeneration Strategy, March 2006 Back