The Labour Party has pledged to work with the solar industry and provide a stable policy environment in its new ‘Green Plan’ document, launched this morning.
The Green Plan elaborates on a number of policy pledges the party made during its manifesto launch last week and details how the party intends to decarbonise the UK’s energy supply by 2030. The document has been signed off by Labour leader Ed Miliband, shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change, Caroline Flint and the shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Maria Eagle.
Most notably the document outlines plans to establish a “clear long-term policy framework” to unlock investment in renewable energy, claiming that the current coalition government had made renewables “less attractive” to invest in.
And the Green Plan also states that Labour intends to “work with the solar industry to provide the stable environment it needs in order to thrive”.
Other pledges include opening up the Green Investment Bank to outside investment through the issue of ‘Green Bonds’ and increased support for community energy generation schemes with the goal of creating a “more diverse energy market”.
A national adaptation programme would be enforced to ensure that all government departments and sectors contribute towards meeting stringent climate change targets, and a new infrastructure commission would be established to ensure the UK’s infrastructure is capable of supporting increased renewable energy generation.
Energy efficiency would also be prioritised under a future Labour government and the party is aiming to make five million more homes energy efficient within the next ten years, with 200,000 homes either in or at risk of fuel poverty being granted free energy saving technologies each year.
While Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems have all set various environmental and renewable energy generation targets in place within their respective manifestos, UKIP has pledged to end all renewable energy subsidies, while the Conservatives failed to mention solar PV at all.