The Renewable Energy Foundation is a registered research and education charity encouraging the development of renewable energy and energy conservation whilst emphasizing that such development must be governed by the fundamental principles of sustainability. REF is supported by private donation and has no political affiliation or corporate membership. In pursuit of its principal goals REF highlights the need for an overall energy policy that is balanced, ecologically sensitive, and effective. REF is part of a growing national consensus that the United Kingdom's energy policy is unbalanced, and that the drive for renewable energy generation has been inadequately planned.