Business leaders have given a mixed response to the UK Government's new energy strategy.
The strategy sets out how the country will accelerate deployment of wind, new nuclear, solar and hydrogen, whilst supporting the production of domestic oil and gas in the nearer term. Around 95% of our electricity by 2030 could be low carbon.
The plans include a fresh oil and gas licensing round to be launched in the autumn for North Sea projects. There will also be a new taskforce providing bespoke support to new developments.
'Pragmatic response'
Ryan Crighton, Policy Director at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said the strategy sent a strong message to the energy sector, but that there were also "missed opportunities".
“This strategy will give investors the clarity they need to invest in new North Sea projects which will deliver energy security, energy transition and jobs," he said.
"It is a pragmatic response to the unique problems faced by the UK at present. A decade of falling investment in the North Sea has led to energy import levels not seen since the 1970s. Importing our energy from other countries makes little economic sense, and even less environmental sense.
“We also welcome the scaling up of ambition on offshore wind and streamlining approval times, but that must be delivered in tandem with support for the supply chain to diversify and investment in grid connectivity.
“However, the failure to accelerate the Scottish Cluster project is a missed opportunity to ramp up carbon removal alongside a reinvigorated North Sea.
“The Climate Change Committee has said that up to five clusters will be required for us to meet our climate targets. It is therefore crucial that while tackling the energy supply issues of today, our policy makers remain focussed on the technologies that will decarbonise our future.”
Plan 'needs political consensus'
Deirdre Michie, OBE, chief executive of OEUK, said the strategy's big ambitions can be realised but need long-term planning and political consensus.
“The UK has enough proven oil and gas reserves to support the UK for at least 15 years, but we need regulatory approval to invest in the platforms, pipelines and other infrastructure needed to access it," she said.
"The announcement of a new licensing round and the proposal to cut the time needed to get those approvals, by the introduction of regulatory accelerators, will help our industry carry on providing the UK with the energy it needs.
“In the longer-term the best way to take control of energy prices, as well as boost energy security, and cut emissions, is to get more of our energy from renewables. We are delighted at the proposals for a five-fold increase in offshore wind and a doubling of the ambition for low-carbon hydrogen by 2030.”
“However, this is a very ambitious plan, and we should be under no illusion about the mammoth task and costs ahead for the industry, the government and potentially for consumers too. Our industry is used to thinking in years and decades, but we need stable long-term regulatory policies, clear and predictable fiscal policies, and improved political alignment across all the countries and parties of the UK and this is the message I delivered on behalf of Offshore Energies UK at the Prime Minister's Energy Roundtable on March 14.”
Failure on home insulation
However, E.ON UK led a chorus of criticism from industry experts, charities and opposition MPs at the government’s failure to include substantive new plans for energy efficiency in the strategy launched yesterday.
Michael Lewis, its chief executive, said that measures such as home insulation could be a “silver bullet” for the energy system by cutting bills and carbon emissions and reducing reliance on foreign gas.
Yet the strategy included no new funding for energy efficiency schemes after proposals apparently were vetoed by the Treasury.