UK energy utilities pushed to adopt renewables

British energy firms have to prove that at least 6.7% of the power they sold last year was sourced from clean energy or else face fines, according to regulator Ofgem. It’s all part of the government’s Renewables Obligation scheme, which ratchets up the level every year until hitting 20% by 2020. For the 07/08 period (running from September), the bar will be raised to 7.9%.

Reuters has more on all this.

In England and Wales and Scotland, the obligation started at 3 percent of electricity supplied in 2002-2003 and for 2007-2008 it will rise to 7.9 percent.

From 2015 until 2027 the bar will stay at 15.4 percent, although Britain has set itself a target of getting 20 percent of all its power from renewable sources by 2020 in an effort to cut emissions of the gases which cause climate change.