Revealed: Details of the white paper that never was

Utility Week understands that the unpublished energy white paper includes a commitment to decarbonise the heating systems of up to four million homes by 2030.

The future of the long-awaited white paper remains unclear following the reshuffle at the department for business, energy & industrial strategy (BEIS) which saw Greg Clark replaced as secretary of state by Andrea Leadsom.

Shortly before his departure, Clark outlined its key points in a briefing with energy executives.  A source at the meeting told Utility Week that these include decarbonising the heating systems of two to four million houses in the next decade and making energy efficiency a national infrastructure priority.

The document is divided into four sections which focus on the home, the workplace, how energy is delivered and how it is sourced.

It says up to 40GW of new low-carbon baseload, or what it describes as ‘firm’ generation, will be required to meet the net-zero emissions target comprising new nuclear and power stations fitted with CCUS (carbon capture use and storage) technology.

The 40GW requirement equates to the amount of electricity generated by a dozen new nuclear power plants on the scale of the 3.2GW plant being developed by EDF at Hinkley Point C in Somerset.

The white paper features a “big emphasis” on CCUS, according to Utility Week’s source, including a target to capture 10 million tonnes of carbon by 2030, which will require more than the one plant currently planned to come on stream in the mid-2020s.

It also reaffirms the existing target of 30GW of offshore by 2030 and discusses extensively how to boost investment in innovation.

In a speech last autumn, Clark said the white paper would be published this summer but it did not appear before he left the government last week.

The briefing occurred on the same evening that BEIS issued a rash of consultations, which take forward some of the thinking in the white paper.

Energy UK chief executive Lawrence Slade said that although many of the core white paper areas had been tackled by the consultations, the publication of the white paper was still important because it would provide a “narrative”.

He added: “If the government is going to delay publication of the white paper, let’s all push for them to make sure that when it comes out it answers as many questions as possible and has a real sense of ambition and leadership that can really get people excited and onside.

“Let’s get the white paper out so we are on track.”

Alan Whitehead, Labour’s energy spokesman, has expressed concern that the change of guard at BEIS will be a recipe for further procrastination.

“My worry is that you will end up undoing lot of potential progress at a time when we can’t afford to wait”, he said.

He urged the new BEIS team not to bury the consultations in a “mineshaft” even though they were instigated in their predecessors’ dying days

“We want to carry on so we can see what their position is on those things and move the debate forward,” he said.

Justin Bowden, national secretary of the GMB union, said it was “crucial” the government recognised the scale of “reliable” power Britain needs in order to achieve decarbonisation while maintaining secure supplies.

And there should be a public debate about how it is paid for, he said: “It has to be recognised that there are additional costs for zero carbon nuclear energy. These arise from the absolute necessity for safe operations compared to other carbon emitting power stations and greater regulatory requirements.

“The engineering is of a different standard and rightly so. The chances of cost overruns to deliver these standards are real and must be paid for.

“All these should be accurately assessed and the costs to investors to meet these standards should be paid for from a progressive general taxation system – as should additional costs arising from phasing out traditional carbon energy sources.”

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