Stephen Timms MP

British Wind Energy Association Conference

We now have scientific consensus - including on the part of the National Academy of Sciences in the US - that climate change is for real and that it poses an immense threat to the world we are living in. That is the reason why World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace have called for higher targets for renewable energy. A study by Professor Thomas of Sheffield University, earlier this year showed that the world could lose a million species by 2050 because of climate change, including many bird species in this country. The report concluded, and I quote, that: "Minimising greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering carbon to realise minimum rather than mid-range or maximum expected climate warming could save a substantial percentage of terrestrial species from extinction." Some have opposed development of wind farms because of the alleged impact on birds. We need to be clear today that development of renewables now is indispensable to save many species of birds from extinction.

There will be a price to pay for the transition we and others have to make to a low carbon economy - but it will be an affordable price, given the clear goal and long term timescale we have set. We need to make sensible decisions which weigh up local and possibly short term environmental impacts against long term impact on the planet for generations to come. The fight against climate change will not be an easy one to win. I agree with Stephen Tindale, the Executive Director of Greenpeace, pointing out that the environmental movement has united behind the need for dramatic cuts in greenhouse gases and saying that - and I quote: "that it is our moral responsibility to support the measures needed to meet those targets. Tough choices will have to be made … localised negative impacts on the environment are the price we will sometimes pay to avoid global catastrophe."

Tackling climate change is a major driver for our renewables policy but it is not the only one. We have been self sufficient in oil and natural gas for thirty years, thanks to the North Sea, but we won't be for much longer. We need new sources of electricity generation under our control. We are of course developing diverse supplies of gas to ensure we can maintain security of gas fired electricity generation. But we need to look elsewhere too, and renewables have a vital contribution to make.

Some people level the accusation that the Government is "obsessed with wind". Indeed it was said in the Energy Bill Standing Committee. Their position seems to be that they are strongly in support of renewable energy, with the exception of those forms of renewable energy which are currently economically viable. We are in fact committed to developing other forms of renewable energy, to harnessing for example the huge potential of wave and tide energy, and I expect to be able to say more about that after the Chancellor's announcements in the Comprehensive Spending Review next week. Wave and tidal devices offer superb prospects for the future. UK technologies lead the world and I hope we shall soon see major progress in proving the technologies and reducing the costs.

But the reality has to be faced that those technologies are not yet available for deployment at scale. There is no impact-free route available to deliver the multi billion pound investment programme we need to make renewables a substantial contributor to UK energy supply.

As the Energy White Paper made clear, and the Prime Minister said again yesterday we have not ruled out the option of new nuclear power stations in the UK. But I haven't yet met anybody - not a single person - who wants at the moment to invest in a new nuclear power station in the UK. The US Administration has followed a strongly pro-nuclear policy for the past four years, but it is still going to be more than a decade before the first new station is operating. There is no quick fix available for us in the nuclear option.

But people do want today to build renewables. Renewables offer the best opportunity for the new domestic capacity we need. Onshore wind energy is clearly competitive now, and offshore wind is becoming competitive too. We have to ensure that their potential can be realised.

Achieving the 2010 target will make heavy demands upon us. We have created a 2010 project team to concentrate solely on its delivery and to overcome the hurdles ahead: providing the infrastructure to connect to the grid, creating the right investment climate, and ensuring that the public debate on wind farms is well informed.

To help deliver our offshore wind programme, I am pleased to announce a commitment of two and a half million pounds over the next two years to support baseline data gathering and impact assessments of wind farms on birds, navigation and fishing. We have established a cross- departmental Research Advisory Group, drawing on wide consultation to provide a strong basis for prioritisation and co-ordination of research studies across all potential impact areas. We are looking for real joining up between Government, developers and others to understand and to address the impacts of offshore wind farms, and so to overcome the complex hurdles the industry faces.

We have a variety of support measures in place. For technologies close to market, our main lever is the Renewables Obligation. After nearly two years of experience, the RO is proving effective and popular with both finance and developer sectors. It received fulsome praise in a recent Financial Times editorial. We have addressed the teething problems, and been able during the year to extend the level of the RO out to 15.4% by 2015/16, and to confirm continuation of this level of support out to 2027.

This is all in advance of the review of the RO that we will complete by 2005/06. I have made clear that we will publish our proposals this summer on the scope of the review, in order that the work can be completed as soon as possible. I well understand the industry's need for a stable investment environment. The industry needs that to deliver, and it's our responsibility to provide it. We are not about to re-open the foundations of the renewables framework we have put in place. I see no appetite for that within the renewables industry, and there is no appetite for it in Government either.

You will of course wish to look closely at our proposals for the terms of reference for the review when they are issued. When you do, you will be reassured by our commitment to the Obligation as the key element of our policy.

Change is difficult, but we have asked and listened to the public - a public that clearly understands the importance of acting. In a major survey last year commissioned by the DTI, over 90% agreed that "the Government should encourage the use of renewable energy" and hardly anyone disagreed. When asked whether they would approve of a wind farm being developed in their area more than 67% said yes, and this increased to over 80% of those who already had a wind farm within 5 km.

We are not going to force through change. Every wind power proposal will be the subject of a thorough planning process - onshore and offshore. No project is going to be steam rollered through the system. I am a former planning committee chair and I support our very thorough planning process, which allows everyone to have their say.

We will continue to address concerns about aviation, radar, shipping, fishing and the environment, and to take all views into account as part of the well established consents process. On aviation and radar, I held an early meeting with my colleague at the MoD, Ivor Caplin, who enthusiastically shares our aims and who yesterday turned the first sod for the Hadyard Hill wind farm which will be the biggest in the UK when it starts generating electricity next summer. Our officials have worked together closely to review the issues, and we agree that a technical solution is available to address outstanding MoD objections to the Round 2 proposals. Other than in the Wash, the MoD objections have now already been lifted. We are committed to working together for the remaining MoD objections to be lifted by the end of the summer, and our departments have jointly called a meeting for later this month with the Round 2 developers to discuss the solutions. I will also be meeting the Department of Transport shortly to discuss wind farm issues for civil aviation.

We want to provide accurate, balanced information so people can make up their own minds. I have launched our "It's Only Natural" campaign to ensure key decision makers can make sound decisions. There are too many myths around about wind energy. I want everybody to know the facts and be able to access clear, accurate information to help inform the debate.

Our work to communicate with key decision makers continue. We have started a programme to answer directly the questions raised by the planning and financial communities. I met with more than 100 bankers on this issue at a successful DTI conference earlier in the year, and I want to continue the dialogue. I welcome the fact that a bank is the key sponsor of your conference. Our web site will be developed as the reliable source of information for the renewables sector.

I hope soon to have in place a dedicated press officer with the job of promoting renewables throughout the UK and counter the false information that unfortunately finds its way into the press. Yes, its true that wind power is intermittent. But that has always been built into our plans, just as maintenance outages for big power stations have to be also. And incidentally I was interested to see the conclusion of research from Oxford University that - in every single hour in the twenty year period from 1980, the wind was blowing somewhere in the UK. What's important is that we have a good mix of generation sources to meet the intermittent and reliable requests from us all as consumers.

We highlighted the need for the transmission network to be developed to accommodate new renewable generation and I am pleased that significant upgrade plans in Scotland have been announced already. One project will be submitted into the consents process this autumn - so unlocking at least an extra 1000 MW of capacity in the north of Scotland.

We want to harness the industrial opportunities in renewables. There are already more than 8,000 people employed in the renewables sector in the UK. The marine renewables sector offers an enormous opportunity for the UK to develop new industries and to create thousands of jobs. I attended the Bonn Conference on Renewables last month, and Chancellor Schröder in his address made the point that 120,000 people work in the renewables industry in Germany today. We want to harness those industrial opportunities too. With our offshore expertise we have a real opportunity to capture those opportunities with jobs in offshore wind now, and wave & tidal in the future.

DTI's Renewables UK is already working to maximise the economic and employment gains from the UK's emerging Renewable Energy industry.

We have developed very strong relationships with all the major players in the UK and we are working with UK companies to help them achieve their potential in this market. We worked closely with the contractors on the Scroby Sands offshore project where the UK did extremely well with companies like ODE; Isleburn; Cambrian, NacapUK, AEI and Pirelli in Wrexham all winning major contracts. I visited Scroby Sands a few weeks ago, taking the boat out from Great Yarmouth, and I particularly enjoyed the local community enthusiasm for that project.

We have started a major programme of 'meet the buyer' events matching specific opportunities for component supply to the major wind turbine manufacturers with UK companies. The first was in Newcastle in April, where over 60 companies met major developers to explore specific opportunities. A number of confidentiality agreements have been signed since. Subsequent events have been held in Hamburg and Aberdeen with six planned for the remainder of this year.

But increasing and maximizing UK content is not easy. My officials at Renewables UK are working extremely hard. We have been disappointed to see many recent contracts, particularly fabrication, go to companies outside the UK. We face stiff competition and UK companies need to carve out business based on quality, delivery and value for money.

Those who let the contracts must play their part. UK companies must be given the opportunity to bid for projects on a fair and level playing field. We need companies to be rewarded for imaginative and innovative solutions to getting renewable projects built. I will be looking at future projects and will want to know the reasons why if UK companies are not being awarded work in the future.

We want the best advice and that is why the Renewables Advisory Board, which I Chair, brings together Government and Industry and focuses on tackling the key issues facing the industry. I hope you have all seen the Board's first annual report. If so, you will have seen that the report on financing issues, commissioned by the board, and funded by The Carbon Trust, was fundamental in convincing Government that we needed to extend the RO out to 2015, so providing a much more favourable climate now for financing renewables. It was a very important step forward, and the work of the Renewables Advisory Board played a very important part in securing it.

In delivering our goals, we need to work closely with the industry as well as with everybody else involved, because progress is vital for the whole country. Increasing use of wind energy over the next ten years is essential. It will be the major early contributor from renewables to our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 60% by 2050. It is imperative for Government as well as for the industry that we deliver, all the more so with the UK G8 Presidency next year. Working together, I am absolutely certain that we can succeed.