Over 60 per cent of the UK's electricity needs could be met by renewable sources by 2030 if the country invests in demand reduction and improved grid connections with Europe.
According to the Positive Energy report released last week by WWF It sets out six scenarios for the UK's electricity system through to 2030 that would keep the lights on while achieving the near decarbonisation of the power sector, as recommended by the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC).
Two of the six scenarios suggest that green energy - not including nuclear or gas - could supply almost 90 per cent of the UK's electricity by 2030 if the right combination of policies and investment is delivered.
The campaign group will use the report to call for the government to install a 60 per cent minimum target for renewable electricity by 2030, well above the 40 per cent goal proposed by the CCC in May and the 35 per cent set out by the government in its electricity market reforms.
The report reasons that reducing energy demand through the use of financial incentives could cut the need for new generating infrastructure, saving up to £40bn.
It also argues that piping in geothermal energy from Iceland or solar power from southern Europe could similarly lower the need for new capacity, while reducing reliance on gas, with or without carbon capture and storage, and allowing the UK to import power when demand is high and export it when output from British wind farms exceeds requirements.
The report claims that having more ambitious targets in place will inspire investor confidence beyond the current 2020 targets.
"A clean, renewable energy future really is within our grasp," said David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK. "Investing in clean energy offers us a means to tackle the two most crucial market failures that now confront the world: the financial crisis and climate change. The only question that remains is, are we bold enough to take it?"
Significantly, the call for a higher renewables target has been endorsed by a number of leading energy and manufacturing firms, including Siemens, National Grid, SSE, the Crown Estate, Vestas and InterfaceFLOR.
"Sufficient certainty that renewables will be a long-term part of the energy system, well beyond the current 2020 cliff edge, is needed in order to allow the industry to mature and put renewables on a path of cost reduction that will steadily reduce and eliminate the need for support," said Keith MacLean, policy and research director at SSE.