The principal measures in the act are to: • require the Secretary of State (
DEFRA) to report annually on
greenhouse gas emissions during the year plus steps taken to cut them; • require
local authorities to take into account the content of a new 'energy measures report' that the Secretary of State will be required to publish within one year from the signing of the Act; • require the Secretary of State to set national microgeneration targets no later than 31 March 2009; • require the Secretary of State to expand the
annual reports on progress towards sustainable energy aims (under the
Sustainable Energy Act 2003), to include: • progress in meeting the microgeneration targets; • progress in meeting the target (under the
Housing Act 2004) for the
energy efficiency of residential accommodation in England; • progress in meeting the target (under the Housing Act 2004) for the
emissions of carbon dioxide in England; • progress in meeting the target (under the Housing Act 2004) for the
number of households in which one or more persons are living in fuel poverty; • things done to promote community energy projects; • things done to promote the use of heat from renewable sources. • give the Secretary of State the power to impose a duty on energy companies to buy energy from microgeneration schemes, if the industry fails to create a voluntary scheme within one year. • introduce a statutory review that, it is hoped, may change
permitted development orders to allow certain domestic microgeneration without the need for
planning permission. A consultation period on the proposed changes ends on 27 June 2007. • make changes to the
Building Regulations to: • include microgeneration within their scope; • increasing to two years the time limit for prosecuting contraventions of the Building Regulations relating to energy use, energy conservation or carbon emissions; • require the Secretary of State to report on compliance with these aspects of the Building Regulations and steps proposed to increase compliance. • change the energy efficiency provisions of the
Gas Act 1986 and the
Electricity Act 1989 to carbon emission based targets; • require the Secretary of State to report on the contribution that can be made by
dynamic demand technology to cutting greenhouse gas emissions; • require the Secretary of State to promote community energy projects; • permit
parish councils and
community councils to incur expenditure (under the
Local Government Act 1972) to encourage or promote microgeneration,
biomass production,
biomass fuels, and energy efficiency measures; • give a duty to the Secretary of State to promote the use of heat from renewable sources; • modify the
Electricity Act 1989 to enable
Renewables Obligation Certificates to be issued to a wider range of people and organisations; • modify the
Energy Act 2004 with the aim of capping charges for the transmission of renewable electricity produced in the
Scottish islands, so reducing production costs and encouraging
wind power and
wave power. ==Microgeneration technologies==