Post by warriorwitch on May 23, 2007 8:17:14 GMT
Major energy policy shake-up in parliament
By Jeremy Lovell Reuters - Tuesday, May 22 11:51 pmLONDON (Reuters) - The government will on Wednesday set out plans for a major policy shake-up to secure energy supplies and fight global warming, calling for new nuclear power plants and stressing key roles for businesses and individuals.
Britain's oil and gas from the North Sea are dwindling and it is keenly aware of when Russia briefly cut gas supplies to Ukraine last year, disrupting supplies to Europe. It also wants to meet its carbon emission cut targets which are due to become legally binding.
The government wants more energy from renewable sources and to encourage businesses and individuals to trim electricity use.
The European Union aims to get 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and a white paper going through parliament calls for the country to cut emissions of climate warming carbon dioxide by 60 percent by 2050.
But Prime Minister Tony Blair and many of his ministers insist Britain must have a new generation of nuclear power plants to replace the 20 percent of electric power its ageing network provides, angering some environmental groups.
"I am determined that we should not become over-dependent on more and more imported oil and gas," Secretary for Trade and Industry Alastair Darling has said. "I believe that nuclear has to be part of the energy mix along with more renewables, local energy and carbon capture from fossil fuels."
The Energy White Paper that Darling will present to parliament on Wednesday will cover all the energy options and make it clear that the government wants nuclear power, a spokesman for Darling's Department of Trade and Industry told Reuters.
But because it was rapped over the knuckles earlier this year for failing to consult the public adequately on the nuclear issue, the government will also on Wednesday be forced to launch a full consultation process lasting several months.
CLOCK TICKING
The clock is ticking. All but one of the existing nuclear power plants is due to close by 2023 and even the most optimistic pro-nuclear lobbyists reckon it will take a minimum of 10 years to build a new plant from scratch.
The government says no public money will go into new nuclear plants. But there is no clear evidence that private sector finance will be on offer for an industry that is notoriously capital intensive at the start and has no guaranteed return.
Major utility EDF Energy, whose parent company runs the fleet of reactors supplying 80 percent of France's electric power, has proposed a "carbon hedge" in which the government basically underwrites the price of carbon.
While new nuclear plants are likely to be by far the most controversial topic on Wednesday they will not be the only one.
"The Energy White Paper will cover the full gamut on energy policy from individual consumer action and choice to big supply side issues," said one government source.
It will promote the search for viable, clean coal technologies including carbon capture and storage -- a potential huge money spinner in exports to countries such as China and India with large coal supplies and booming energy demand.
The White Paper will also promote energy saving by businesses, call for more investment in renewable technologies such as wind and waves, back an extension of trading in carbon emission permits, urge greater energy efficiency and support micro-generation such as rooftop solar panels and wind turbines.
The government has agreed a voluntary pact with suppliers to phase out high energy light-bulbs in favour of low energy ones and wants to legislate on product standards, but is prevented from doing so by EU competition laws that it wants to change.