The Green gift that keeps on giving

UK faces energy blackouts without investment in nuclear and clean coal Britain faces electricity blackouts unless the Government does more to support nuclear and clean coal as well as renewables, experts have warned. By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Dieter Helm, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Oxford, said the UK will face shortages and high prices for electricity from 2020 when the current generation of coal-fired power stations and nuclear stations have to close down.

He said the only way to avoid the problem it to invest in a new generation of power stations, including clean coal and nuclear, as well as renewables like wind and solar.

In a report for think tank the Policy Exchange, Prof Helm looked at UK energy policy over the last few decades. He said that the current policy to subsidise renewables through the Renewables Obligation is failing because wind, solar and hydroelectric power cannot fill the impending energy gap.

Instead he called for a "Low Carbon Obligation" that paid energy companies to invest in nuclear or carbon capture and storage (CCS) that will allow coal stations to operate without releasing as much carbon into the atmostphere.

He said: "The Renewables Obligation is one of the most expensive ways of subsidising renewables in the developed world. It also fails to support other low carbon technologies, such as nuclear and carbon, capture and storage (CCS)."

Prof Helm is the latest expert to warn of an energy gap as the UK is forced to close down old coal-fired stations because they are too polluting and nuclear stations because they are not safe. However he is one of the first to suggest the Government should subsidise nuclear and other low carbon technologies.

Ben Caldecott, head of the environment and energy unit at Policy Exchange, said the UK needed to invest in a mix of technologies in order to protect against blackouts.

He warned: "If we don't change the course of our energy policy, the lights might go out, we will see a second dash for gas based on insecure Russian supplies and we'll be locked into a high carbon future. This scenario is the worst possible, but is becoming increasingly likely."
The report also called for households that generate their own electricity through microgeneration such as wind turbines to be paid more and the roll out of "smart metres" that will improve energy efficiency in the home by telling consumers how much electricity they are using.

Environmental groups claim the UK's energy gap can be filled by boosting renewables alone while the Government is advocating a mix of technologies, including nuclear.

Environmentalists and socialists, they're the same in my mind, are happy to spout their nonsense and live off existing capital until it's used up and then they will gladly promote a lower lifestyle.