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A dash for gas could derail the nuclear and renewables industries, speakers warned at a Nuclear Industry Association conference in London last week.
Labour peer and environmental campaigner Baroness Bryony Worthington said low carbon generation could lose out to gas powered plant if there is “a very strong gas agenda”.
She added: “We’ve got fraction of government with very different views on the future energy mix and it’s not clear yet what’s going to dominate.”
Her remarks followed the publication of government’s gas generation strategy, which said 26GW of new gas plant is likely to be required by 2030 to replace retiring coal, nuclear and older gas power stations.
Ben Caldecott, head of policy at Climate Change Capital, echoed Baroness Worthington’s concerns. He said the government’s strategy: “Will hold back the development of the low carbon technologies needed to ensure cleaner, cheaper and more secure power over the long term.”
Also speaking at the NIA conference, energy minister John Hayes admitted “there is a tension between different types of electricity generation”, and said the priority was energy security. He said gas will have a significant role to play in the UK’s future energy mix, but there is a “bright dawn” for the nuclear industry, while renewables will continue to be supported.
Hayes added that nuclear “is central to government’s plans to keep the lights on, reduce costs to consumers and lower carbon emissions”.
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