England seen missing 2010 renewable energy target

LONDON (Reuters) - England is set to miss its target to generate 10 percent of its power from renewable sources, such as wind, the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) said on Monday.

BWEA said that on average across England only 50 percent of the renewable electricity generation would be met, with some regions such as the South West failing to reach even a third.

"In England we need to think carefully on how to use the lessons learned from 2010, as we attempt to reach the binding EU wide 2020 targets," Maria McCaffery, BWEA Chief Executive said in a statement.

"All it takes is the political will to deliver. In Scotland renewables targets were backed by a policy framework and decisive central Government action," she said.

The country's overall target would only be met because both Scotland and Northern Ireland were set to outstrip their own targets, the BWEA said.

The report came ahead of the publication on Wednesday of the government's Renewable Energy Strategy, which sets out how the country should reach its EU binding target of sourcing 15 percent of energy from renewables by 2020.

It followed another one by business lobby group CBI which said Britain needed to build more nuclear reactors and cleaner coal plants while putting less emphasis on wind power if it wants a secure low-carbon future.

BWEA said a slow and ineffective local planning system in England and Wales was tying down wind farm planning applications. It took 14 months on average before a decision was made, despite a guideline to do so within 16 weeks.

"Around a half of wind farm applications taken to appeal for refusal or non-determination are then approved, raising doubts about the ability of local planning authorities to deliver the nation's renewables program," it said.

(Reporting by Nao Nakanishi, Editing by Peter Blackburn)