The UK needs to make a "giant leap forward" in terms of its renewables commitments.

This is according to a spokesperson for the Renewable Energy Centre.

Recent figures published by Eurostat revealed that the UK's generation of renewable energy was among the lowest rates in Europe in 2008.

The representative from the Renewable Energy Centre urged the government to put more investment into the sector in order to boost the industry.

"Investment is essential if the UK is truly going to contribute significantly to the renewable energy industry," she said.

"Both public and private sector funding is critical in order to get the industry firmly on its feet and producing energy in meaningful volumes."

Europe as a whole is making progress in terms of using more clean energy sources, however.

A total of 62 per cent of the new electricity generation capacity installed in European Union countries in 2009 was for renewable energy, figures from the European Commission have revealed.

Posted by Emily Thomas

Sign up for regular email updates to help you save money and energy

For more information please see:

Eurostat