National drivers

Implementing renewable and low carbon energy is an important part of the response to the challenges of climate change and security of energy supply.  Renewable and low carbon energy sources  are low or zero emission alternatives to fossil fuels as a source of energy.

What other benefits can renewable or low carbon energy bring?

• Economic opportunities for businesses to supply and install renewable and low carbon technologies
• Opportunities for innovation in research and development
• Potential benefits of renewable heat sources for people in fuel poverty, particularly for properties that are off the gas grid

What are the challenges of implementing it?

• The effect on electricity and gas distribution networks, such as the need for access to the electricity grid by a larger number of small energy generators, and more storage capacity to cope with variations in output from some renewable energy sources
• The cost of developing district heat networks
• The high up-front cost of some technologies, especially while the market is relatively small and the national energy infrastructure needs to be adapted to accommodate them
• Requirement to develop skills and resources in the supply chain
• Impacts of manufacturing and delivering the technologies and fuel in the case of biomass, including embodied energy
• Wider environmental effects, such as noise and visual impact