Tories back microgeneration
We’re pretty keen on microgeneration here at Vox Polis so it’s pleasing to see the Tories lending it their backing. David Cameron’s arrival has bought a change in policy focus including taking a look at environmental and energy issues. While you might expect the Tories to be keen on nuclear (big construction contracts = good for the economy) when you start bandying around words like decentralization microgeneration starts to make more sense as a Conservative policy.
Microgeneration is also a good way to appear green without having to back the more unpopular choice of windfarms. The recent rejection of a major new windfarm at Whinash in Cumbria as a result local objections goes to show how difficult large scale renewable schemes can be to implement in practice, at least without serious government backing (which in my opinion the Whinash scheme didn’t have). Interestingly the government don’t seem to have factored in local issues into their nuclear equations. The idea that people will reject a few windmills but will roll over for a 1000 acre nuclear plant seems a little strange to me unless of course the government has a private preference for nuclear and intends to push through planning permissions when the time comes?
Of course whether the encouraging talk will turn into manifesto commitments to subsidise purchases of generation equipment is the real question that has to be asked of the Tories. An answer to that is unlikely before the policy review committees start to come back in a couple of years.
Thanks to DogPatch for spotting the original article.