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Public backs construction of new coal with carbon
capture technology
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Survey finds 50% support for fossil fuel plants with
carbon capture versus 22% against
A large proportion (50%) of the public would back the
construction of new coal and gas fired power stations if there
was an ability to capture and store any emissions produced,
according to a new survey by the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers.
The survey, which looks at public views on UK
electricity generation, found that the public also seem to
prioritise security of supply and climate change over price. With
35% saying that Government’s first priority for generating
electricity should be generating enough to meet all our domestic
and industrial needs, 32% saying the priority should be
generating electricity which has the least impact on our climate
and just 23% saying that the top priority should be generating
electricity which is cheapest for the consumer.
According to the survey, 49% of the public said they
thought domestic electricity prices in the UK were higher than
the average, compared to European neighbours. This is despite the
fact that prices in countries such as Denmark, Germany and
Italy are on average
significantly higher.
Dr Jenifer Baxter, Head of Energy and Environment at
the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said in response to the
findings:
“Government has abandoned plans to support carbon
capture and storage technology in any significant way,
despite studies and many
pathways showing that this technology is vital to meeting climate
change targets.
“Carbon capture and storage offers huge potential to
retroactively decarbonise our existing fleet, as well as offering
the potential to build new low-carbon power plants fuelled by
gas. These results show that this sort of negative emissions
technology also has broad support from the public. If the
Government is serious about providing a secure and diverse
electricity system, it must focus on reducing energy demand,
improving energy efficiency and introducing carbon capture and
storage.
“It is also curious that despite much of the public
and political debate over electricity centring on the issue of
pricing, the public viewed this as a less important issue than
security of supply or the impact on climate change.
“As we prepare to leave the EU, a clear energy policy
which focuses on energy efficiency, energy security and
mitigating the impact on the environment is more important than
ever. Government must therefore act quickly to introduce
legislation which ensures that we continue with EU rules on, for
example, improving the efficiency of household items as well as
reversing the VAT increase on insulation materials introduced in
2015.”
Other findings of the public perceptions study
include, that 54% would not support a nuclear power station being
located within 10 miles of their home, compared with 52% for a
coal-fired power station, 38% for a gas-fired power station, 30%
for a biomass power station and 16% for a wind or solar
farm.
The survey, commissioned by the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, and carried out by ICM Unlimited, polled
2,009 people on 21-23 July 2017.
