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“Storage and small nuclear now top the PM’s wishlist”
“I completely disagree. I couldn’t disagree more fundamentally. That is total and utter nonsense.”
Those were the words of the prime minister when quizzed on whether the government was reneging on its environmental responsibility and becoming less attractive for those wanting to invest in green energy.
David Cameron was adamant his government is the greenest ever, and that the UK remains an attractive place for investors in renewables and low carbon.
He told the Liaison Committee that 98 per cent of the solar panels in Britain had been installed while he has been in Number 10.
Counter to this, and the argument put to the PM by ECCC chair Angus MacNeil and Efra committee chair Neil Parish, is the cooling of support for two renewables technologies – or the complete removal of £1 billion in the case of carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The response was the same on both fronts. Cost. Cameron said the £1 billion for CCS would not have been worthwhile as the price of CCS-generated electricity remains too high and would put too much burden on bills.
Tidal energy suffered similarly, despite the PM’s keenness on the idea. “My enthusiasm is reduced slightly by the fact that the cost would be quite high,” he told the committee.
Storage and small modular nuclear reactors now top the PM’s wishlist, with both set to benefit from extra funding, some of which could be from the £1 billion pulled from CCS.
He will just be hoping that investors in the UK share his enthusiasm.
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