Energy and Climate Secretary announces major energy policy 'reset'
Wed 18 November 2015
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In a major speech on the direction of UK energy policy, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has announced the closure of all UK coal-fired power plants by 2025 and a switch to mainly gas and nuclear power generation.
The DECC Secretary said she wanted policy to focus on making energy affordable and secure. The government wanted a “consumer-led, competition-focused energy system that has energy security at the heart of it”. She said that she thought that the balance had swung too far in favour of climate change policies at the expense of keeping energy affordable.
Environmental groups, in general, cautiously welcomed Ms Rudd's pledge to stop coal generation, but criticised the weakening of support for renewable energy.
The former US vice-president Al Gore said: “The UK has become the first major economy to set a clear date to phase out coal, and I am hopeful that others will follow suit as we repower the global economy with the clean energy we need for a sustainable future.”
Coal provides about 30% of the UK’s electricity but it is the most carbon intensive of fossil fuels. Commentators say that the UK will have to make a major effort to get enough gas-fired power stations built to meet demand.
Burning gas emits about half as much carbon as coal and is considered by some to be a “bridging” fuel, as countries work towards a zero-carbon future.
The Energy Secretary acknowledged that gas and nuclear power generation would in effect need a government subsidy for building power plants, but insisted they were the most secure energy sources for the future. She said that support for renewables grew too expensive under the coalition, in which the energy brief was held by the Liberal Democrat, Ed Davey.
Also this month, Ms Rudd was accused of having misled the public after a leaked letter revealed that the UK was predicted to fall short of its EU obligations to get 15% of its energy from renewables by 2020. Pressed on the shortfall, the energy secretary was forced to admit the UK did not have the right policies to meet its decarbonisation targets and argued that the government should maintain support for renewable heat at the spending review.
Green MP Caroline Lucas (quoted in The Guardian) said: “This switch from coal to gas is like trying to go dry by switching from vodka to super-strength cider – it entirely fails to seriously address the real challenge at hand. Investing in renewables and energy conservation would be far more effective economically, environmentally and in terms of energy security. We must begin weaning ourselves off gas as quickly as possible.”
A poll carried out on behalf of RenewableUK last month found that the general public believe that subsidies for wind power are about 14 times higher than they actually are (an average of £259 compared to the actual £18). The survey also found that the public underestimate the backing for wind power with both offshor and onshore wind favoured by a clear majority of the public.
In a separate development, a study carried out by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) found that G20 Governments collectively handed out $452bn in subsidies for fossil fuels in both 2013 and 2014 - four times the amount allocated globally for renewables.
The report says that the UK provides $9bn in national subsidies and $5.5bn in public finance to fossil fuel projects and that the UK has become the only G7 nation to increase fossil fuel subsidies.
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