Electric car grants - just a load of greenwash Gordon.
No electric car that is available now, or for at least the next two years, will qualify for the government grants of up to £5,000 announced yesterday.
Even the handful of concept cars currently being tested may be ineligible because ministers insist that they will only subsidise cars with “mass market appeal”, in terms of range and speed.
The RAC Foundation questioned the effectiveness of the grants and said there could be greater environmental benefits from encouraging more efficient petrol and diesel engines. A spokesman said: “Green initiatives should not be introduced for the sake of grabbing headlines.”
The electric car strategy is the latest in a number of green pledges that critics say are more spin than substance. Ministers promised to improve the energy efficiency of a million homes this year but many will only be getting low-energy light bulbs. The Government has also set a target of 35 per cent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2020, but the current level is only 4 per cent and investment in wind farms has fallen sharply.
The Department for Transport said it was still debating the minimum standards for electric cars, including range, speed and safety, which vehicles would have to meet to qualify for grants. Retailers of existing electric cars, such as the G-Wiz, fear the announcement could cause a collapse in sales, as drivers planning to switch to an electric car delay buying in the hope of getting a grant in the future.
Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, said that the Government wanted to put electric cars “into the reach of ordinary motorists by providing help worth £2,000 to £5,000”.
However, it emerged later that the Government did not know when the first eligible car would go on sale. The DfT said it was assuming that the first ones would be available from “2011 onwards” but it would be up to manufacturers to decide precisely when.
Lord Mandelson and Geoff Hoon, the Transport Secretary, marked the announcement of the strategy by test-driving an electric Mini at a racing circuit in Fife. However, BMW, which makes the Mini E’s electrical system in Munich, said that it had no plans to sell the car in Britain.
The company intends to start a trial this year involving no more than 40 Mini Es in London and the Thames Valley. Participants will have to pay about £550 a month to lease a Mini E, three times the lease rate of a petrol-powered Mini Cooper. They will be unable to carry more than one passenger because a huge battery occupies the back seat and it has a range of only 150 miles before it needs recharging.
The Vauxhall Ampera, based on the Astra, may be the first electric car eligible for a grant but it is not due to go on sale in Britain until 2012 and is likely to cost more than £20,000. Even with a £5,000 grant, drivers would still be paying a substantial premium on the £12,000 cost of a conventional Astra.
The Government declined to set a target for the number of electric cars it wants to see on the roads, unlike Germany which wants a million by 2020.
The strategy says it expects numbers “to rise to the thousands in the early part of the next decade”. To put this in context, more than two million cars are sold in Britain each year and there are 27 million on the road. Sales of electric cars halved last year to 179, down from 397 in 2007.
Nigel Wonnacott, a green-car analyst, said: “This strategy could be the final nail in the coffin for the current crop of electric city cars as buyers hold out for models from mainstream car makers. But there’s no guarantee that any will be on sale come 2011.”
The DfT said £230 million would be available over several years for electric car grants and another £20 million for roadside charging points. A Nissan spokesman said the investment in charging points could be inadequate. “The Government have been very woolly in what they have said. People are not going to buy electric cars if they can’t plug in and recharge at their destination,” he said.
A DfT spokeswoman said the G-Wiz and Mega City were not eligible because they were classified technically as quadricycles, not cars. “We will be discussing the details of the scheme and eligibility rules with the car industry over the coming months.”
Times Online 17.04.09 Ben Webster
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Pilot Tidal Energy Scheme for North Wales Coast
Conwy County Borough Council has backed plans for a pilot tidal energy scheme off the North Wales Coast.
The £150 million scheme at Llanddulas in North Wales would provide a testing facility for turbine designers and manufacturers, and assess the environmental impact of turbines.
The project was given approval by the council as part of a strategic regeneration strategy for the Conwy coast, prepared by consultant Capita Symonds.
Paul Terry, Capita Symonds, said: "Tidal power will play a key role in providing a sustainable energy source for future generations. The North Wales coast is an ideal place for such a scheme as it’s blessed with a good tidal range and suitable ocean depth." He added that the project could also help protect the coast from rising sea levels, storm surges and coastal erosion.
The regeneration strategy also calls for seven new visitor centres costing £30m should be built at key locations stretching from Conwy to Rhuddlan. But North Wales Tourism chairman Chris Jackson raised doubts over whether the proposals could realistically be funded in the current economic climate. The council’s approval now means that Capita Symonds will seek funding for feasibility studies and investigations to develop a business case for the scheme.
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Micro-generation forms key part of Government's vision.
Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker, has launched a consultation on the Government's strategy to boost energy self-sufficiency in communities.
The public debate about microgeneration will look at ways to ensure the quality of generating technology and its installation, how to improve available products, and how to develop the microgeneration supply chain while providing more accessible advice.
The consultation follows last week's news that the Government is to overturn a ban on councils selling "green" electricity back to the national grid by the end of the year.
Mr Barker said“I want to see more homes, communities and businesses generating their own energy. We can literally bring power back to the people.Microgeneration is a key part of this vision.
“By becoming more self sufficient we can create sustainable local energy economies. People and communities can save money on their fuel bills at the same time as generating an income and cutting carbon. I want to work with industry to overcome the challenges it is facing. Together we will create a marketplace for jobs and prosperity alongside products and advice which people trust.”
More information can be found on the Microgeneration Strategy consultation web page
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Green policies could hit UK manufacturing hardest.
A report from the think-tank Civitas warns that the increasing cost of energy, which has been driven up as a result of green policies could hit the UK's manufacturing sector - just as the country needs industry to help boost the economy.
The report said efforts to tackle climate change through cutting greenhouse gas emissions and increasing renewable energy generation could significantly push up energy bills for business.Extra costs are put on energy from policies including the EU's emission trading scheme, the renewables obligation to boost investment in technology such as wind power, and the climate change levy which taxes energy use in businesses and the public sector. Also, the Labour Government's climate change strategy had already added an extra 14% on homeowners' electricity bills and 21% on business bills.
Last year's renewable energy strategy could have created "surcharges" of up to 70% for businesses, and 33% for domestic customers by 2020, the report from Civitas claimed. The study warns the new coalition Government's energy policy could be as damaging to manufacturing industry as the previous administration.
The review by economist Ruth Lea and Jeremy Nicholson, director of lobbyists the Energy Intensive Users Group, said the UK was badly placed to meet its commitments to boost renewables as it was starting from such a low base. Even without the extra costs imposed to pay for climate change policies, Britain has high industrial electricity prices, which threaten its competitiveness.
Ms Lea said: "The economy desperately needs a competitive and thriving manufacturing sector if it is to prosper. Competitive energy prices are vital to the success of manufacturers, especially energy intensive users.Government energy policies are, however, remorselessly driving up energy costs thus risking the 'migration' of manufacturing plants to economies where the costs are lower."
