Renewable Energy Foundation

rdf:langString Renewable Energy Foundation

rdf:langString The Renewable Energy Foundation (REF), founded in 2004 by UK TV personality Noel Edmonds, is a United Kingdom-based registered charity with a stated aim of promoting the development of sustainable energy technologies. Their funders include Barclays Capital and Calor Gas. REF believes that the issues of climate change and energy supply are complex and closely intertwined. REF's primary activity is commissioning and writing reports to provide information on energy issues. The REF has frequently argued against wind farm expansion, and the organization has frequently been accused of in fact being anti-wind, rather than pro-renewable energy. Since 2006, REF has published a comprehensive set of statistics, describing in detail the performance of renewable energy generators in the UK that are registered under the Renewables Obligation. On 2 February 2011, REF released a report critical of wind power, saying it would lead to higher prices for consumers. REF also publishes constraint payments made by the National Grid Electricity System Operator to wind farms to reduce output. These payments are made when excess electricity is being generated in a particular region and a grid bottleneck prevents that electricity being exported to a region where the electricity could be used. Wind farm constraint payments reached a record £125 million in 2018, with Scottish wind farms receiving £115 million of this total.