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Energy efficiency 'has trade benefits'
06/05/10
Edited by Tom Bardsley.Investment in energy efficiency now can have multibillion pound benefits by 2020, according to the Renewable Energy Association.
As well as the economic benefits that energy efficiency can have for home owners undertaking home improvement projects, there are also wider advantages for the UK economy as a whole due to the reduced need for imported fossil fuels.
The report uses estimates of the maximum energy efficiency that might be achieved by 2020 - as well as targets for the uptake of renewable power sources - to quantify these benefits.
If the most ambitious targets are achieved, the nation's power consumption could be cut by more than 13 per cent, with a 14 per cent drop in energy used for heating.
Meanwhile, renewable power could rise from supplying 11.6 per cent of electricity in 2009 to provide 48.3 per cent of the power used in 2020.
With all of this in place, the UK economy would benefit by an estimated £12.6 billion each year.
