NEWS UPDATE ENERGY SECURITY


Renewables offer greater energy security for UK than new oil and gas


Opposition to nuclear power plans in Scotland


Calls for a nuclear revival in Scotland – including the possibility of a new Dounreay reactor – have been dismissed as “folly” and a “mad delusion”. Scottish Nuclear Free Local


Authorities (NFLAs), a grouping of councils opposed to civil nuclear power, insist that energy efficiency investments would be a far more cost-effective option. Together with renewables, these “represent the only way forward to achieve a sustainable, net-zero future”. The secretary of state for Scotland,


Alister Jack, has confirmed that a re-elected Conservative government will plan a new nuclear site in Scotland. This is despite opposition from the SNP-led Scottish government. A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The Scottish government is absolutely clear in defence of the devolution settlement and in our opposition to the building of new traditional nuclear fission energy plants in Scotland under current technologies.” Scottish councils that are part


of NFLAs include Dundee, East Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, West Dunbartonshire and Western Isles. The joint local authority statement warned that cost overruns were notorious in the nuclear industry, and that the earliest any approved and financed scheme could come onstream would be in the late 2030s. It said: “Nuclear plants are


also incredibly expensive to decommission, and the resultant radioactive waste must be managed at vast expense for millennia. “Instead of wasting cash and time on nuclear, the Scottish NFLAs believe the money and effort would first be far better spent insulating all domestic properties and public buildings to the highest standard to improve energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption and minimise or eliminate fuel poverty, as well as investing in more renewable energy generating capacity and battery storage.”


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New analysis has found that renewables will boost UK energy security more than new oil and gas. The report from the Energy and


Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) analysed official data from the North Sea Transition Authority and found that while new fossil fuel licenses may produce some extra oil and gas in theory, the amounts would be marginal and do little to offset a rising reliance on foreign energy imports. It says a combination of renewables, insulating homes so they need less energy to heat them, and switching from gas boilers to heat pumps and from petrol to electric cars can halt


MPs out of touch with constituents on energy and climate


New polling by YouGov has found many MPs are at odds with the British public over how to ensure the UK’s energy security. After more than two years of high energy bills, the poll for ECIU found 62% of the public believe the best way to achieve energy security is to reduce the use of fossil fuels and instead expand the use of renewable energy – just 19% believe the solution should be new oil and gas exploration licences. But less than half of MPs (48%) thought renewables will provide more energy security than fossil fuels, and more Conservative MPs


(43%) thought the UK would be better to increase its supply of oil and gas instead of renewables (28%). The poll also found MPs to be out of


touch with the public on support for solar and wind farms. Only a quarter (25%) of MPs thought more of their constituents would support rather than oppose a solar farm. Around a half (52%) of Conservative MPs thought more of their constituents would actually oppose than support a solar farm. In reality, around three- quarters (76%) of the public said they would support one in their local area. Likewise, half of MPs (and 71% of Conservative MPs) think more of


the rise of energy import dependence, maintaining or even boosting the UK’s current level of energy self-sufficiency. Even if new North Sea licences


were to yield the maximum projected amount of oil and gas, without new clean technologies the amount of energy that we use that’s reliant on imports would be 25% higher in 2030 than today – energy security would be a quarter worse by that measure. Based on current trajectories,


renewables and other net zero technologies will improve the prospects for energy security, such that the amount of energy used that’s reliant on imports would be just 10%


higher in 2030 than today. But faster uptake of net zero


technologies has the potential to maintain the current level of import dependency by 2030, even without new oil and gas licences, and to then bring it down and improve UK energy security compared to today. By 2030, energy security could have improved from today’s level with an accelerated deployment of renewables. Analysis by the campaign group


Uplift suggests that in the past decade, hundreds of new licences have been issued, yet to date they have produced just 16 days worth of gas. Over the same period, despite the new licences, the number of jobs supported by the oil and gas industry has more than halved to around 215,000. The UK currently imports about


60% of the gas it uses. A faster shift to clean technologies would cut the UK’s exposure to volatile gas markets which have driven up energy bills over the past two years, leading to taxpayers needing to subsidise them, with the government providing at least £50bn for bills and wider cost-of-living support in just one year. The OBR has said that similar crises in future could add the equivalent of 13% of GDP to the national debt.


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their constituents would oppose an onshore wind farm than support it, whereas in fact three-quarters (75%) of the public say they would support a new onshore wind farm in their area. Two thirds of the public also say they would support new pylons to transmit electricity (63%). One area of agreement between


MPs and the public is support for net zero targets. More than two- thirds (69%) of the public back the 2050 target to halt the UK’s climate change emissions, while 76% of MPs support the target. However, more Conservative MPs (42%) say it is not essential to reach net zero in order to stop climate change, compared to 28% who understand that reaching net zero emissions is essential to preventing climate change from continuing to worsen. However, both the public and


MPs underestimate each other’s support for net zero. On average, the public thought only half of MPs were supportive of net zero.


EIBI | JUNE 2024


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