Is The South-West The Low Carbon Economic Area For The Wrong Renewable Energy?

Posted on 25. Mar, 2010 by Ross in United Kingdom

Should the South-West abandon it’s empty tag as wave power experts and pursue geothermal energy instead?

The scene is an easy one to imagine. A group of UK politicians come with a great idea: create specialist areas of excellence across the country in different low-carbon technology sectors, allowing creativity, research efforts and infrastructure improvements to concentrate and multiply the effectiveness of the necessary investment. Calling the idea Low Carbon Economic Areas, they then take out a map, and start working out which area should specialise in what technology. The first comment that gets made?

“The South-West’s got the most coastline: it can be the Low Carbon Economic Area for wave power.”

The label seemed to sit so well that the South-West of England’s new status was the first to be confirmed as part of the scheme’s announcement in last year’s first carbon budget. Since then, however, most of the government investment and major planning in wave power has found its way to Scotland, with only a verbal commitment to long-term economic benefits from wave power for the South-West.

This week saw further moves away from the South-West as a centre for wave power excellence. The Scottish parliament, looking to capitalise on their current world-leading position in the wave power industry, announced the creation of the