The call came last week at Westminster during the launch of an inquiry into the role of renewable energy in future of UK electricity generation.

Speaking at the event, Opposition Energy and Climate Change Spokesperson in the House of Lords, Baroness Worthington, said: “We need less ideology and more evidence within the energy debate. That is what characterised the first report of the Future Electricity Series and will continue in [this enquiry].

“We need to conduct less of our energy policy discussions in the hype of the media, and really get down and do our homework on the fundamentals that underpin the electricity market. That is why this is a very important series and we look forward to taking ideas and evidence from across the energy and policy communities”.

Entitled Power from Renewables, the inquiry is the second in a three-part, nine-month series, run by independent think tank Carbon Connect and chaired by former Energy Minister Charles Hendry.

Last week’s discussions focused on future technology costs, managing varying supply and biomass sustainability, in light of expected announcements on strike-prices for renewables this summer, the progress of Electricity Market Reform through Parliament and the pipeline of coal to biomass conversions currently being considered in the UK.

The publication of the first report in the series, Power from Fossil Fuels, was launched in Parliament in April and the final report of Power from Renewables will be launched in Parliament on July 16th.

Hendry said: “Our first inquiry on the role of fossil fuels really showed there is such appetite for fact-based research. The response we received from industry and government showed that we are filling a gap in terms of authoritative research documents.

“This Power from Renewables research is going to be one of the most important parts of the whole Future Electricity Series.”

Conor McGlone

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