I wrote the other day about some photovoltaic research funding being made available in the US and suggested VCs were not likely to be interested in the technology.
I put the same point to Labour MEP Eluned Morgan last week when she was talking about EU energy policy and commitments to renewable energy and promises to cut CO2 emissions.
She made the point that a 10 per cent electricity supply from renewables target for the UK by 2010 is coming up. We are at about 4 per cent now so we will miss that target. However, it is a self-imposed target so we won’t run into any trouble for not meeting that target.
What message will this send to businesses which may be thinking about investing in renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic cells? I would suggest that the message would be “we’re not really serious about renewable energy”.
Eluned Morgan then pointed out that there is actually a legally binding agreement to reach a target of 20 per cent European energy to come from renewable sources by 2020. So there you have it, go out and invest in renewable energy technology because we know that no one breaks EU laws, do they?