28/11/2003

'Environmentally friendly' Energy Bill unveiled

The government has claimed that measures in the new Energy Bill will help develop "more environmentally friendly power" and also deal with UK's nuclear legacy.

The Bill, published today, is designed to help create a low carbon economy and help ensure that 10% of the UK's electricity comes from renewable sources by the year 2010. It will implement a range of commitments made in the Energy White Paper published earlier this year, the government said.

The proposals propose to: support sustainable energy by enabling projects such as wave and tidal power schemes to be built beyond our territorial waters; create a Nuclear Decommissioning Authority that will have complete responsibility for the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's civil nuclear sites, and effective management of nuclear waste.

A number of technical provisions aimed at ensuring competitive and reliable energy supplies are also included.

Energy Minister Stephen Timms said: "The policies we are putting in place today are not merely for the here and now; future generations will reap the rewards of cleaner, greener power.

"The White Paper stated our aspiration for renewables to meet 20 per cent of our electricity needs by 2020, and by 2050, we are working to cut our CO2 emissions by 60%."

(gmcg)

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