Following the Government’s new Energy Security Strategy, eight new Nuclear Reactors could be built on existing sites.
The Government has today released it’s long awaited Energy Security Strategy. In light of recent events in Ukraine and the ongoing climate crisis the Government is aiming to create a cleaner energy industry less reliant on global markets and particularly dependence on fossil fuels controlled by authoritarian regimes internationally. Recent spikes in the cost of living partly driven by energy prices have only added to the incentives to get the energy market right.
The Key points of the new strategy include:
- Nuclear: the Government plan to build eight new nuclear reactors on existing sites as part of a wider plan to shift dependence away from oil and gas.
- Wind: to reform planning laws to allow faster approval of new offshore wind farms. New partnerships to be formed between hosting communities and new onshore wind farm developments – with cheaper energy bill subsidies for these areas.
- Hydrogen: existing targets for Hydron production to be doubled.
- Solar: the Government is considering reforming rules on the installation of solar panels on housing and corporate buildings to expand current capacity by up to five times by 2035.
- Oil and gas: North Sea oil reserves are being revised as a viable option for energy production as importing from abroad has a smaller carbon footprint.
- Heat pumps: investment planned to create widescale production of heat pumps in order to reduce demand for gas in the UK.
Reform of such a large section of the economy is also an obvious opportunity for the Government’s ‘Levelling-up’ agenda. The energy industry and market for renewables are viewed as a clear opportunity to introduce expanding industries across the country and rebalance the UK economy away from London.
Insulation from criticism
However, the Government’s strategy has not garnered universal praise from either politicians or civil society organisations. Greenpeace have pointed out that this strategy does not do anything to tackle energy waste, such as insulating homes and commits to further fossil fuel exploration when we should be reducing carbon emissions.
Additional criticism has come regarding alleviating the immediate costs of living for the public. Ed Miliband, Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero, has been vocal on the strategy’s apparent failure in addressing the short-term energy and cost of living crises facing millions of UK citizens.
Following the release of the strategy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement:
‘’We’re setting out bold plans to scale up and accelerate affordable, clean and secure energy made in Britain, for Britain, from new nuclear to offshore wind, in the decade ahead. This will reduce our dependence on power sources exposed to volatile international prices we cannot control, so we can enjoy greater energy sufficiency with cheaper bills’’.
Final thought
One glaring problem with the Government’s strategy of investing in UK fossil fuels is that energy markets are international. As long as the UK is a net importer of fossil fuels uncontrollable price swings whether they be dictated by Russian aggression or Saudi profiteering will cost the UK dear. Even were the UK a net exporter of fossil fuels profit made by extraction companies will come as cold comfort to the average consumer. In light of our net-zero targets perhaps its time to wean the country off the juice.
The plan to build eight Nuclear Reactors on the other hand may be an important element of reaching net zero and energy security however they may fall into the long list of expansive promises on infrastructure that have failed to materialise in recent times. Boris Johnson’s administration has also missed potential easy victories such as a national project of insulation which could alleviate worrying forecasts of even higher energy bills this winter.
Image Credit: Roger Cornfoot