Energy is a contentious issue in Northern Ireland. Electricity costs are on average a quarter percentage higher than in the UK. This tends to be for historic reasons resulting from privatisation in the early 1990s. New generating proposals which may help to address the balance are usually unpopular with locals and contentious on environmental grounds.
The use of renewable sources are being hailed as the way forward. The UK Government has agreed that by 2010, 10% of all electricity will come from renewable resources. These include wind, the sun, water and biomass. The UK Government has demonstrated its commitment to the use of renewable energy by signing the Kyoto Protocol. The Energy (NI) Order 2002 provides that a certain percentage of electricity must be produced from renewable sources.
