Governments all over the world are now setting targets for the amount of energy from renewabe sources there must be in their electricity grid and even cars. As any one knows who runs a business, setting targets is the first step in the journey, achieving targets is much harder. And to achieve targets you need a market, and if there isn't one or it's weak, someone needs to create it.
Most countries are setting targets of about 20% for renewable energy in the electricity grid by 2020.
Most countries have less than five per cent of their energy coming from renewable sources, especially if you exclude hydro. There are exceptions and Denmark and Germany are the most often quoted. But targets are not enough if the people setting them, governments, do not also help create a market.
We know that renewable energy is currently expensive to generate and that fossil fuel is still cheap. A renewable energy target might redirect investment but it might not necessarily sustain it. Governments should take one further step. They should commit public procurement to renewable energy sources. If procurement in the public sector was comtingent on goods and services using renewable enegy, then that will help create a market, and reduce prices for renewable energy which, should, accelerate its use in the private sector.
Government's are big spenders, their expenditure can create markets and accelerate their growth. They should use that power along side incentives like feed in tariffs, but that subject will be saved for another time.
