12 June 2009
Household and commercial heating in the south-west of England is increasingly making use sustainable energy sources such as wood burning, according to new research.
Sustainable energy use in the region has increased to 56MW, according to sustainable energy agency Regen SW Survey of Renewable Electricity and Heat Projects in South West England.
Meanwhile, heat derived from renewable energy has increased ten-fold over the past four years in the south-west, the survey shows.
Merlin Hyman, Regen SW Chief Executive, explained that despite the good results the region still faces a "huge task".
He said: "The UK's EU targets show that by 2020 we must generate 15% of our energy from renewable sources and currently the south-west is only managing about 1%.
"This task will require change on a much larger scale and the low increase in renewable electricity shows that we have a long way to go."
The positive progress follows research by price comparison website uSwitch.com, which found that further action needs to be taken to tackle fuel poverty in the UK.