The more gloomy the predictions about Britain's dwindling energy supplies become the more alarming the piecemeal approach to renewable power initiatives begin to look. Yesterday's warning from the outgoing chief executive of Ofgem, Alistair Buchanan, about Britain's "rollercoaster energy supplies heading downhill fast" puts the issue into stark perspective. We're running out of gas, our coal-fire power stations pump out too much CO2 and are coming out of commission and the new generation of nuclear stations, including EDF's plan for Hinkley Point in Somerset, won't be on stream for years.
In the short term we have little choice but to rely on very expensive imported gas from abroad to keep the lights on and the boilers running. But in the longer term it seems that renewable power with new nuclear are the answer. We need more renewables – but tell that to the residents of rural communities across the Westcountry and you will get short shrift. They are the victims of the piecemeal approach to solving what is fast becoming a national emergency – and it is not only unfair, it is also failing to deliver up the energy the nation so badly needs.
So why, when – as Mr Buchanan so starkly lays out – the problem is so large, does the Government persist in failing to devise a national strategy to solve it? Why are local communities finding themselves on the receiving end of what look like speculative applications to put this massive solar park here or that massive wind farm there, when what is so clearly needed is a coherent approach that rules out renewable development in some areas while positively promoting it in others. We need one big debate about the right areas for our wind farms, our solar parks, our offshore arrays and our tidal and wave machines. Instead we are engaged in dozens of little ones that are costly, damaging to confidence in property values and hugely unsettling for residents. The other imperative in tackling the energy gap is to look at our use of power and, specifically, how much is wasted. From city centre businesses that keep the lights on all night to old houses which desperately need insulation but which fail to get it because the cash is simply not available, much more could be done to reduce energy use.
Here in the Westcountry we have many older homes. They might look attractive and traditional but many are appallingly inefficient. A programme of upgrading – to keep the appearance but modernise the energy use – is required. Incentives offered to homeowners need to be significantly enhanced if we are to make meaningful progress in this area. The benefits will be enormous, in reducing fuel poverty, cutting our overall energy use and increasing the security of our supply. The cost will be large too but given the scale of the crisis we face can we afford not to act? While the renewable firms make a fast buck from subsidies the crisis goes on. That must change – and quickly.
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