UK falls behind schedule for 2020 renewables goal - EC

May 22, 2014 - The European Commission (EC) on Tuesday voiced its concerns about the UK’s ability to achieve its 15% renewables goal for 2020, urging it to make “additional efforts” to return back to schedule.

According to fresh data from the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat, the UK has fallen below interim targets, which contradicts to the UK government’s recent statement that the country is ahead of schedule in achieving its 2020 target. In order to accomplish the 15% goal, the share of renewables in the UK power mix has to be 5.4% in 2013/14, 7.5% in 2015/16 and 10.2% in 2017-2018. The average for 2011/12 was 4%.

Malta, France and the Netherlands also lag behind the indicative trajectory values, Eurostat statistics showed. In 2011-2012, the average share of renewables in Malta was 1.1%, while the indicative trajectory for 2013/2014 is 3%. The country aims to source 10% of its total power from renewables by 2020. In France, renewables accounted for 12.4% of all power in 2011/2012. The interim goal for 2013/2014 is 14.1%, while it has to achieve a 23% share by 2020. Meanwhile, the share of renewables in the Netherlands was 4.4% in 2011/12. Its interim target for 2013/14 is 5.9%, with a 2020 target of 14%.

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