Do we need a compulsory renewable energy programme?

It’s been 80 years since a compulsory tillage programme was introduced during The Emergency, otherwise known as World War II. It was introduced to save the country from starvation, or at least from even greater food, especially bread, rationing. Are we in the middle of another emergency, requiring equally drastic measures to safeguard the country? Do we need a compulsory renewable energy programme to provide a dependable, indigenous source of energy in the coming years? It would certainly make sense at some level. While there is encouragement of the development of renewable, indigenous energy resources, there is no compulsion, apart from the much-criticised carbon tax, which inflicts hardship equally on those who can change their energy source and those for whom that is not yet as practical, or viable, a proposition. 

What might that look like? 

A compulsory energy-production programme might involve installing solar panels on every house, farmyard, business premises, shop, office – in fact, every suitable building in the country. An 80 per cent grant aid would soften the cost imposition, while hugely ramping up our production of renewable energy. A payback to the exchequer to offset the cost might be part of the equation with all excess electricity and/or a certain percentage of production sent free gratis to the national grid for the first five years post installation. The value of that could then be used to pay back the capital and interest on the upfront cost to Government. That’s a fair trade off, with building owners having first dibs on the electricity produced and the benefit of a regular payback for surplus production from five years down the line. A daft pipedream or a drastic, radical and realistic response to the developing scenario of permanently higher energy prices and increasingly uncertain supply? Would it be too big a step for our cautious political leadership? They keep saying we are in a time of crisis but show little enough inclination to develop crisis-management initiatives, whether that is in encouraging housebuilding or the construction of an affordable, dependable and indigenous renewable energy supply.

Funding mechanism

An alternative funding mechanism to fast-forward renewable energy production through a compulsory adoption programme could involve the construction of a dedicated fund sourced from all those personal savings lying around in low or no-interest savings accounts. The lure of a three per cent interest rate might be enough to entice conservative savers to invest in a ‘sure thing’ with minimal risk and a guaranteed return. An extension of the existing government bank guarantee to cover investments in a renewables fund would be an additional sweetener and provide the ultimate financial solace for risk averse savers. Far better to encourage savers to invest in the country’s future prosperity rather than encouraging them to engage in share dealing, where the Government has no remit.

• Rule number one
  Government should not tell people what they should do with their own money. 
• Rule number two
  If Government is going to tell people what they should do with their own money, direct it to good use for the benefit of the country. 

In the meantime, our finance minister should be far too busy managing the country’s finances to have time to spare in advising people to speculate with their savings. He should stop trying to do favours for people who didn’t even realise they needed a favour done for them.