London Research International

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UK'S INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT FOR RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY LAGS BEHIND OTHER MAJOR EU COUNTRIES

London, United Kingdom, Thursday, 16 October, 2008 - According to new research, The European Renewable Electricity Sector 2008: A Country Comparison of Risks and Opportunities, published by London Research International (LRI), the UK government is lagging behind other EU countries in providing a positive environment for investing in renewable electricity - despite a clear indication of failure to fulfil its commitment of attaining 10 per cent of electricity consumption from renewable energy sources by 2010.

LRI has developed a series of indices that provide a detailed rating of all of the key areas related to investing in the renewable electricity sectors of 15 EU member states. The research is unique in its use of multiple measures to develop five indices, which accurately and numerically evaluate the risks and opportunities of each member state's renewable electricity sector. A sixth non-numeric index provides an analysis of the emerging and established technologies that are currently adequately supported through government incentives or have the potential for growth. The opportunity indices measure government incentives and power market demand and also review established/emerging technologies in the sector. The risk indices measure political will, grid connection problems and planning permission challenges.

While the UK has a relatively high power market opportunities index, its risk indices are also high in comparison to other large EU member states. The UK's incentive opportunities index is low due to its use of the tradable green certificate (TGC) incentive system called the Renewables Obligation. The European Commission has suggested that countries that have opted for the feed-in tariff (FIT) have been more effective at increasing renewable electricity generation than other schemes, including the TGC.

Planning permission is a notable problem. The UK has a high-risk index for planning permission. This implies that, while the potential exists for renewable energy development, the UK government has been slow in providing an environment suitable for the required investment by failing to improve the planning permission process. The UK's political will risk index is also higher than that of the other large EU states of France, Germany and Spain. On the whole, the UK's renewable energy development programme seems to lack the coherence evident in other large EU member states.

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For more information, contact:
Teruhiko Tsumura or Richard Carlson
London Research International Ltd, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London SE1 7NQ, UK
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Note to Editors:

London Research International Ltd (LRI) is a rapidly growing provider of international research, consulting and marketing services. Clients include major international companies, research institutions and government offices. The European Renewable Electricity Sector 2008: A Country Comparison of Risks and Opportunities is the first in a series of four energy-related research projects that LRI is planning to undertake. It is also planned to update this publication on an annual basis in order to provide a benchmark against which to measure the progress of the EU member states in achieving their commitments to increase the share of renewable electricity to their total consumption for use by government departments, opinion leaders, educational institutions and environmental groups. The research can also be used as a guide by institutional investors to identify investment opportunities and assess the level of risk and attractiveness associated in this sector across the EU.

Teruhiko Tsumura is principal founder and Managing Director of LRI. He has implemented engineering and consultancy projects in more than 30 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. He spent 15 years as a senior manager and economist for Pacific Consultants International, a leading engineering consulting firm in Japan. He has also worked at the UN in New York and represented the Japanese government at international conferences sponsored by the World Bank, the OECD and other international organisations. He has an extensive network of high-level business contacts in Japan and the UK.

Michael Prior, LRI's senior energy adviser, is an energy and environmental economist with 30 years' experience with the World Bank, OECD, SIDA and IEA. He was director of the Stockholm Environmental Institute in York between 1991 and 1993, and director of the Energy Restructuring Group in Poland in 1996 and 1997. He has worked widely in the CIS and Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania and Slovenia. He has advised international corporations on fuel supply issues at strategic and operational levels and on business acquisition programmes. He is the author of a number of publications for professional organisations.

Dr. Shizuka Oshitani-Alcoe is Director of Research. She has worked on a number of research projects concerning the European energy market and environmental issues. She graduated from the University of Essex with a PhD in Government where she compared British and Japanese climate change policy. Before joining LRI, she worked with the United Nations Environmental Programme/Regional Office for Asia Pacific, and she also lectured at the Kobe City University of Foreign Studies.

Dr. Ryoko Matsuno is Senior Researcher and is also responsible for the operation of the LRI Chemical Regulatory Consulting Unit. Her expertise includes the regulation of toxic chemicals in international law, EU and English/Welsh law and she is arguably one of the most knowledgeable consultants on REACH internationally at present. She has a PhD in Environmental Law from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK. Before joining LRI, she worked in several organizations where she was involved mainly in issues related to toxic chemicals.