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The requirement for nuclear is essential in backing up “unreliable renewables” as part of the energy mix “until we get storage right”, energy secretary Amber Rudd has insisted.
Speaking at an Energy and Climate Change select committee hearing on Tuesday, Rudd emphasised the importance of nuclear power in the UK’s energy mix to provide “a secure baseload” supply of electricity.
She told MPs: “The requirement for nuclear is absolute if we want to have renewables as part of the mix because, until we get storage right, renewables are unreliable.”
Rudd also told the committee that although storage is “a fantastic opportunity in the future” and a “really exciting development”, it is “not yet a really essential part of delivering electricity”.
She added: “At the moment, we have to make sure that our renewable growth is accompanied by a secure baseload, so that we can have constant supply of electricity for consumers and for businesses while we’re growing renewables.”
The committee heard the Department of Energy and Climate Change would like to see “much more successful energy storage” and will coordinate with other departments, such as the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, to deliver more support for innovation.
“In terms of our overall strategy, investing and supporting and working with innovation and scientific communities is going to be an essential part going forward,” she said.
“We’ve got Sir Paul Nurse doing a review of various colleges which are working on scientific projects for energy and for business, so that we can try and coordinate it better.”
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