In a speech at Energy UK today, will argue that the UK's dependency on fossil fuels
is the “Achilles heel” of the UK's energy system, with wholesale
gas costs for households 75% higher than before Russia's invasion
of Ukraine.
He will argue that renewables are cheaper to build than gas, and
that driving for clean power is the only way to overcome this
weakness. He will say:
“Dependency on global fossil fuel markets is this country's
energy Achilles heel. Some people want to double down on this
weakness- this Government disagrees. We believe that the sprint
for clean power is the best way to reliably bring down bills for
good and give us energy abundance.”
He will set out in his speech that:
- Wholesale gas costs for households
are currently 75% above their levels before Russia invaded
Ukraine. If these costs were at pre-crisis levels, bills would be
more than £200 a year lower than they are today.
- Britain faces the challenge of
historic under-investment in our energy system, and of rapidly
growing electricity demand; meaning that the choice for the
future is what kind of energy system the country wants to build,
not whether to build at all. According to NESO, half the existing
gas fleet has already been operating for over 20 years, much of
the electricity grid was built in the 1960s for a completely
different age and hasn't been upgraded since. Much of the UK's
current nuclear fleet began operating in the 1980s and we haven't
brought a new nuclear power station onto the system since
Sizewell B 30 years ago. The Government's agenda to invest in
homegrown clean power is the solution to this.
- Building clean energy is the right
choice for the country because it is the only route to a system
that can reliably bring down bills for good. He will point to the
government's last renewables auction, where strike prices for
solar and onshore wind in our last auction, AR6, were nearly 50%
cheaper than the levelised cost estimate to build and operate a
new gas plant. Offshore wind, though more expensive than onshore
wind and solar, was also significantly cheaper than new
gas.
Miliband will call out critics of clean power who pretend there
is no cost to building a non-clean power system. He will
say:
“To listen to some people talk, you would think there was a
free pass to just carry on using unlimited gas from existing
stations for the next few decades, but that is simply not the
case. Of course, we could decide to stop building renewables and
just rely on a whole new fleet of gas-fired power stations, but
we need to be candid that this would involve the costs of
building not just operating these plants.
“Now of course, people are entitled to advocate for more
fossil fuels and less or even no more renewables as part of this
mix. But here is the reality: They would leave us more
exposed because we don't control the price. They are more
expensive to build and operate. They would leave us losing out in
the global race for the jobs, investment and industries of the
future. And they would drive a coach and horses through our
efforts to tackle the climate crisis.”
