Huhne: 'Ridiculous' law against clean energy sales must go

We’re all familiar with the tales of silly, antiquated laws that remain on the books long past their useful lives, but most of them don’t have any impact on day-to-day society. The Queen, after all, doesn’t really expect to have dead whales delivered to Buckingham Palace (item 1) and most Parisians probably won’t complain if you name your pet pot-bellied pig Napoleon (item 22).

However, there is a 34-year-old law on the books in the UK that’s not only silly but actively harmful to the government’s low-carbon economy goals. Fortunately, Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said today he aims to have it repealed.

The law in question is a provision from the Local Government Act 1976 that prevents local authorities from selling most of any electricity they generate back into the grid. Under the act, the only power they can sell back is that produced by heat … solar, wind, anaerobic or any other energy sources are right out.

Speaking at the Local Government Association annual conference today, Huhne called that law “ridiculous.”

“I want to see this repealed and by the end of the year I hope local authorities will be able to sell electricity from renewables — generating revenue to help local services and keep council tax down,” he said. “Local communities can truly benefit from the low-carbon transition.”

Repealing the 1976 law could have a significant impact on grid energy. According to new data published today, local authorities in 2008-2009 generated a total of 33.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity from on-site biomass plants, and another 600,000 kilowatt-hours from wind or solar power. (Just think about how much whale oil or pig waste you’d have to burn to generate that kind of energy.)

Those other silly laws can stay, but Huhne is right: this 34-year-old prohibition has got to go.