Wales adopts target of 100% renewables by 2025

The government of Wales has embarked on a new scheme to radically reduce its use of resources in the space of one generation.

The document outlining the goals of this scheme can be downloaded here.

One component of this plan is the goal of producing "as much electricity from renewable sources by 2025 as we consume". This goal is spelled out in Part 2 of the document.

From Energy Matters
"The focus of the Scheme is living within Wales' environmental limits - by setting out a pathway for using only its fair share of the Earth’s resources and becoming a One Planet nation within the lifetime of a generation.

"A One Planet nation is a country where the resources within it are enough to sustain its population, with no external inputs required. If Wales should achieve this goal within proposed timeframes, it will be the first country to do so.

"Under the radical plan, Wales also intends to reduce by 80-90% its use of carbon-based energy, resulting in a similar reduction in greenhouse gas emissions."

From the Welsh government document
"Within the lifetime of a generation, we want to see Wales using only its fair share of the earth’s resources, and where our ecological footprint is reduced to the global average availability of resources - 1.88 global hectares per person, with each Spatial Plan Area making its full contribution (see Figure 2 for Wales’ ecological footprint by theme for 2003). By the lifetime of a generation, we mean that we wish to see these changes brought about by the time our children are grown up. Figure 3 shows an indicative timeline to this.

"To achieve this goal over a generation, we will need to reduce by at least two thirds the total resources we currently use to sustain our lifestyles. To reduce this we must:

• radically reduce by 80-90% our use of carbon-based energy, resulting in a similar reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions. This reflects the latest estimates for action needed to address damaging climate change. It would support our commitment to make annual 3% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in areas of devolved competence; and our ambitions to make all new buildings zero carbon buildings; and to move to producing as much electricity from renewable sources by 2025 as we consume."