microgeneration could rival nuclear power

One in five buildings in Britain could become mini power stations, with the right incentives in place, according to a new report commissioned by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Regulatory Reform (DBERR). A large-scale shift to microrenewable energy could save 30m tonnes of CO2, equivalent to 5% of all UK electricity. Such widespread microgeneration would need a feed-in tariff scheme so that homeowners could sell electricity to the grid, and there would need to be some combination of grants, subsidies and soft loans. But this investment by government would be partially offset by effectively outsourcing the project management costs and effort required for large-scale projects, by putting the initiative in the hands of individuals. This "distributed project" would reduce investment needed in more traditional generation facilities. On top of that, job creation would be more widespread.