March 19, 2024

We need green energy, not gas plants

The Government just announced plans to build new fossil gas-fired power plants in the UK

PRESS PHOTOS © Jess Hurd 12/12/2023 London. Warm This Winter campaign hands in a petition to No 10 Downing Street demanding action for over one million of the UK’s most vulnerable adults living in cold damp homes. Photo credit: Jess Hurd

Recently the UK Government announced that they are planning to build new fossil gas-fired power plants right here in the UK.1

But our over-reliance on gas is what has caused energy bills to skyrocket in recent years. Now, more than ever, we need affordable, home-grown, renewable energy – not fossil fuels.

Mass investment in the rapid acceleration of renewable energy could ensure our country is running on local wind and solar power while creating millions of jobs. Investment in large scale battery storage would help to ensure reliable supply. The UK could be leading the world in the transition to green energy.

Instead, building new gas-fired power plants in the UK would make us more reliant on the whims of a volatile international gas market, where prices can suddenly skyrocket, as we’ve seen so clearly in recent years.

It is also unrealistic to think that the UK can extract all the gas we need from the North Sea which means we would be more reliant on expensive, imported gas and leaving our energy security in the hands of major gas-producing countries – like Russia.

And in addition, as even prominent Conservative politicians have admitted, the gas produced in the North Sea will be sold on the open, global market to the highest bidder – not kept for our own use.

The government should be urgently investing in delivering renewable energy sources such as onshore wind, offshore wind and solar power at the speed and scale required to meet our net zero targets. Modelling shows that if we speed up our transition to renewable energy, we could reduce our reliance on gas to almost zero by 2030, and avoid £93 billion in gas costs in the process.

It should also be investing in the UK’s existing and new-build housing stock with energy efficiency measures and heat pumps that will make our homes fit for the future and support people with the cost of living crisis.

It’s simple. A rapid expansion of renewable energy in the UK would bring down bills, reduce climate impact and make us more energy independent. More gas power plants would do the exact opposite.

We have drafted an open letter to the Government calling for them to reverse this plan – it’s co-signed by organisations like Fuel Poverty Action and Stop Rosebank. Will you add your name too? 

 

Sources:

1: BBC