“The UK is almost uniquely exposed to the current energy
crisis, which is primarily about gas...and the reason that we’re
quite exposed to high gas prices is that quite a high proportion
of our electricity comes from gas-fired power stations, about 40%
of the total.” says Simon Evans of Carbon Brief, speaking to
Committee Corridor host about energy security in the
latest instalment of the Parliamentary podcast.
Mr Evans discusses some of the
technologies available to secure Britain’s future energy supply -
including nuclear, hydrogen and energy storage - and the hard
choices and challenges that they
present.
The key to the UK’s energy security in
a low-carbon world will be drawing from a variety of sources and
reducing demand according to MP who sits on the
influential
Environmental Audit Committee. She
said, “I think there needs to be a combination, a mix of energy.
So, I think we do need some nuclear power” adding however, “this
is not a quick fix solution”. An expansion of renewables,
including onshore wind opposed by the Government, and making
homes more energy efficient would see some quicker wins, she
said.
Both McMorrin and Evans lamented the
awarding of more licences to drill for North Sea oil and gas as
counterproductive. Given the lead times involved, Mr Evans said
that new gas exploration “will make absolutely zero difference”
to the energy price crisis right now, calling the Government’s
defence of the policy on environmental grounds “pretty
strained”.
, who chairs the Science and
Technology Committee currently undertaking an inquiry on
delivering nuclear power, told the podcast the Committee had heard evidence
demonstrating “a degree of scepticism” that the Government can
meet its aims to ramp up nuclear
power.
He said that they heard that it’d be
wrong to relay on small modular reactors, since there is a record
of developmental delays and the Government has so far been
unwilling to pay for the
technology.
