U.K. introduces new energy bill
(By David Ehrlich) - A push for carbon capture and storage and renewables comes amid a call for for new nuclear power.
The U.K. presented a new energy bill in the House of Commons, giving a leg up to clean coal and renewable resources like wind and tidal power, but the legislation comes amid a controversial call for new nuclear power in the country.
“We want Britain to be more secure in its energy supply. Even with all these renewable sources that we can bring to bear, we will still have a need for nuclear power,” said Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a press conference.
Suitable sites for the new plants will be identified by next year, with the first new nuclear power station expected to be completed before 2020.
But that may not come fast enough, according to one lobbying group.
“Nuclear may well play a part in the U.K.’s long term energy supply, but it cannot address the urgent need to fill the U.K.’s growing energy gap over the next 10 years,” said Maria McCaffery, CEO of the British Wind Energy Association.
By 2016, 7 gigawatts of the current 11 GW of U.K. nuclear capacity will already have been retired, according to the wind group.
McCaffery said there are already enough wind energy applications in the works to significantly reduce the impending energy shortfall.
The trade association said there are over 13 GW of wind energy under development, including 7.5 GW onshore and 5 GW offshore, while 2.1 GW, including the 1,000 megawatt London Array, were approved last year.
Wind would get a boost under the new legislation, which aims to strengthen the country’s Renewables Obligation.
The obligation requires electricity suppliers to get a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources.
The government said the bill would give more support to new and emerging technologies such as offshore wind, wave and tidal, as well as enable the Renewable Obligation to provide additional support to microgenerators.
The energy bill also sets up policy for the construction of the transmission networks that will be needed to bring onshore the electricity generated by offshore renewable sources.
Under the proposal, the transmission networks would be owned and operated separately from the offshore generating assets, with energy industry regulator Ofgem given powers to run auctions for the right to build and run the networks.
Legislators estimate that £2.5 billion in investments will be needed to connect planned offshore wind farms to the electricity grid.
With the new initiatives, the government expects to triple the electricity supplied from renewable sources to around 15 percent by 2015.
As for clean coal, or carbon capture and storage, technologies, the legislation would create a regulatory framework to enable private sector investment in CCS projects.
The government also announced details of a competition to award support for the first commercial-scale demonstration of a project where carbon emissions from power plants can be safely stored underground.
“CCS is a technology that has the potential to make a critical contribution to tackling climate change,” said John Hutton, the secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform.
Fossil fueled power plants will have to comply with the emission standards of the European Union’s Large Combustion Plants Directive by 2015.
Over 10 GW of fossil fueled capacity will likely need to be retired by that time, with up to an additional 15 GW either having to close or operate under severely restricted conditions.
The government said carbon capture and storage could reduce emissions from fossil fuel power stations by as much as 90 percent.
Hutton touted nuclear as a low-carbon solution, but he said that a number of concerns were raised during a six-month consultation about nuclear power, which produces highly radioactive waste.
“Ensuring the safety and security of new nuclear provision will remain a top priority,” he said.
Nuclear power currently accounts for approximately 19 percent of the U.K.’s electricity generation.
The U.K. is aiming to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2050, and has set a target to get 10 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2010.
The U.K. presented a new energy bill in the House of Commons, giving a leg up to clean coal and renewable resources like wind and tidal power, but the legislation comes amid a controversial call for new nuclear power in the country.
“We want Britain to be more secure in its energy supply. Even with all these renewable sources that we can bring to bear, we will still have a need for nuclear power,” said Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a press conference.
Suitable sites for the new plants will be identified by next year, with the first new nuclear power station expected to be completed before 2020.
But that may not come fast enough, according to one lobbying group.
“Nuclear may well play a part in the U.K.’s long term energy supply, but it cannot address the urgent need to fill the U.K.’s growing energy gap over the next 10 years,” said Maria McCaffery, CEO of the British Wind Energy Association.
By 2016, 7 gigawatts of the current 11 GW of U.K. nuclear capacity will already have been retired, according to the wind group.
McCaffery said there are already enough wind energy applications in the works to significantly reduce the impending energy shortfall.
The trade association said there are over 13 GW of wind energy under development, including 7.5 GW onshore and 5 GW offshore, while 2.1 GW, including the 1,000 megawatt London Array, were approved last year.
Wind would get a boost under the new legislation, which aims to strengthen the country’s Renewables Obligation.
The obligation requires electricity suppliers to get a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources.
The government said the bill would give more support to new and emerging technologies such as offshore wind, wave and tidal, as well as enable the Renewable Obligation to provide additional support to microgenerators.
The energy bill also sets up policy for the construction of the transmission networks that will be needed to bring onshore the electricity generated by offshore renewable sources.
Under the proposal, the transmission networks would be owned and operated separately from the offshore generating assets, with energy industry regulator Ofgem given powers to run auctions for the right to build and run the networks.
Legislators estimate that £2.5 billion in investments will be needed to connect planned offshore wind farms to the electricity grid.
With the new initiatives, the government expects to triple the electricity supplied from renewable sources to around 15 percent by 2015.
As for clean coal, or carbon capture and storage, technologies, the legislation would create a regulatory framework to enable private sector investment in CCS projects.
The government also announced details of a competition to award support for the first commercial-scale demonstration of a project where carbon emissions from power plants can be safely stored underground.
“CCS is a technology that has the potential to make a critical contribution to tackling climate change,” said John Hutton, the secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform.
Fossil fueled power plants will have to comply with the emission standards of the European Union’s Large Combustion Plants Directive by 2015.
Over 10 GW of fossil fueled capacity will likely need to be retired by that time, with up to an additional 15 GW either having to close or operate under severely restricted conditions.
The government said carbon capture and storage could reduce emissions from fossil fuel power stations by as much as 90 percent.
Hutton touted nuclear as a low-carbon solution, but he said that a number of concerns were raised during a six-month consultation about nuclear power, which produces highly radioactive waste.
“Ensuring the safety and security of new nuclear provision will remain a top priority,” he said.
Nuclear power currently accounts for approximately 19 percent of the U.K.’s electricity generation.
The U.K. is aiming to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2050, and has set a target to get 10 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2010.
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