UK: Reaction to report that UK is 'to miss 2020 EU green energy targets'

Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said: "This is just the latest piece of research which shows the UK is set to miss its 2020 renewable energy targets.

"We have simply failed to grow renewables' share of the energy used in heat and transport to the levels required, and we will not meet our climate change targets without massive changes in these two areas. The irony is that there are a huge number of renewable power projects which could provide cheap and clean electricity before 2020 and make up the shortfall from heat and transport. However, onshore wind and solar – the two cheapest forms of clean electricity generation – are unable to bid for long term contracts for power, and other technologies cannot access support until 2021 at the earliest.

National Grid’s report also highlights the massive growth required in renewables if we are to meet our long-term climate change targets.

Mr Stuart added: "According to the report, we need to triple the UK's capacity of renewable electricity generation if we are meet our 2050 climate change targets in the most competitive way possible. There is no way we will deliver that without clear and coherent short, medium and long-term objectives for the energy sector – and policies to achieve these.”

• The report National Grid's Future Energy Scenarios can be read here.