Primary energy production from renewables was only 2.25% in 2008 – implying an increase in the share of renewables of a factor of seven, while power production from renewables was only 5.5% of the total.

The RES sets out a “lead scenario” which foresees more than 2/3 of the power production contribution from renewables coming from on and offshore wind, with the rest coming from hydro, sustainable bioenergy, marine sources and small-scale technology. It says 12% of the UK’s heat could come from biomass, biogas, solar and heat pumps by 2020, and that renewable sources could provide 10% of our road and rail transport energy.

Overall, the government predicts that its RES, if implemented, could create up to 500,000 new jobs in the UK renewables sector and lead to investments of around £100 bn.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said, “This is a transition plan for Britain, a route-map to 2020, with carbon savings expected across every sector and a carbon budget assigned to every government department alongside its financial budget. Renewables, nuclear and clean fossil fuels are the trinity of low carbon and the future of energy in Britain.”

The document outlines plans to set up a new Renewable Energy Deployment Office to speed up growth in renewables capacity; a commitment – subject to consultation - to extend the current Renewables Obligation (RO) support scheme to at least 2037 while limiting the time frame of support to 20 years; and improvements and £11.2m in funding to speed up current planning processes, in order to speed up the deployment of onshore wind.

The RES also includes plans to invest £6m to develop the concept of a “smart grid” including a policy road map next spring. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will take over responsibility from Ofgem for establishing a new grid access regime for renewables within 12 months, using its powers under the 2008 Energy Act..

It also reiterates plans to introduce feed-in-tariffs for renewable energy technologies from April 2010, and it announces the final short-list of schemes for tidal generation from the Severn Estuary.