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Corbyn Pledges Greater Solar Investment as Part of a UK Renewables Boost

  • Publish Date: Posted over 7 years ago

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour party leader, has spoken this week about how he would look to grow Britain's share of renewable energy usage to 65pc, as well as take measures to outlaw fracking and to restore the DECC. The news comes as part of his manifesto for the environment and energy change.

If he were elected as PM, Corbyn said he would also look to deliver 25 GW of fresh solar energy capacity and create 50,000 new jobs in the sector - a sector already struggling after the government cut its subsidy support system and failed to be clear on its position for future renewables support and investment.

A key tenet of his manifesto is that he would deliver challenging energy targets using solar and offshore wind, along with other green energy technologies. This is based on an estimate that solar PV energy could be delivered at 4.5p per kwh - far lower than the Committee on Climate Change previously estimated.

In the manifesto, Corbyn states that the capital investment costs for solar power would lower over time thanks to investment certainty from the National Investment Bank, which would provide cheap loan finance as part of its remit as a publicly financed institution.

Along with projected cost decreases and certainty of policy, Corbyn claims that these estimates would be achievable. He also wants to see the initial 2030 target of 65pc renewables growing to 85pc as the underpinning technology grows and spreads out - and he wants to see reductions in housing sector power demand by 66pc in the same timeframes. This would be supported by an ambitious national insulation programme which would see four million homes being insulated to an efficiency grade of at least C in a Labour government's first term.