A Scottish MP’s bid to introduce a new law to promote small-scale renewable energy will reach its final stages in the House of Commons this Friday, 10th March. The Bill is a UK-wide Bill, and many of its sections will apply to Scotland.

Mark Lazarowicz, Labour MP for Edinburgh North & Leith will be seeking final approval of the House of Commons when his Private Member’s Bill, the “Climate Change & Sustainable Energy Bill” has its “Third Reading” debate on Friday. The Bill, which now has support from the government along with the opposition parties (Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and SNP), has already been discussed by a House of Commons committee. If it passes through the House of Commons on Friday, it will then go the House of Lords, where it is not expected to face any opposition.

As amended in committee, the main elements of the Bill are as follows:

1. It will promote “microgeneration” – small scale renewable and energy efficient technologies which can be installed by individual householders, small businesses and local communities. These can include solar panels, small scale wind turbines, heat pumps, and domestic boilers which can produce electricity as well as heat a house and provide hot water.

2. One of the ways in which it will do this is by removing some of the bureaucracy which can deter domestic consumers from installing this type of technology. It will also make it easier for householders to sell any surplus electricity they produce back to the National Grid, and so make the economics of installing such small scale technologies more attractive.

3. It will also give powers to the government to make gas and electricity suppliers support measures designed to reduce carbon emissions.

As well as promoting small-scale renewables, the Bill now also makes it possible to introduce new rules on the way that the transmission of electricity is charged for when it is produced by energy companies. This change has been proposed by the government for the specific case of Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles where at present the rules on charging make it uneconomic to utilise the full potential for renewable energy in these areas.

The Bill will also make the UK government report annually on the levels of greenhouse gas emissions from the UK each year, and what steps it has been taking to reduce them.

The Bill has a number of other measures, which will not apply to Scotland.

However, Mark is working closely with Edinburgh Central MSP Sarah Boyack who is putting forward a Bill in the Scottish Parliament which will deal with the issues that are devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Speaking on the Bill, Mark Lazarowicz said: “We all know that tackling climate change must be a top priority for government at all levels – UK, Scotland, local council, as well as at European and international levels. My Bill aims to help make sure that the UK stays on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. And by supporting microgeneration, it will also promote a type of technology which individual householders and communities can easily take up. If they do that, they can reduce their own energy costs, and at the same time make their own contribution to tackling climate change.”

He went on: “These technologies are not just for the committed few; recent reports have shown that up to 40% of domestic consumers could install some type of microgeneration in their home. That could make a significant contribution to reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions here in the UK.”

The Bill has support from a wide range of organisations including Friends of the Earth and the Sustainable Energy Partnership. Although the Bill has broad support in the House of Commons, it is not guaranteed a positive vote on Friday, as two back-bench Conservative MPs have put down amendments which could delay or even wreck the further progress of the Bill.