April 15, 2013 10:59 am
Finally, the UK’s energy policy is taking shape after months of confusion. At its heart is a realisation that, while some decisions are urgent, others can wait. Time and timing matter. The approach is practical as well as political but it won’t suit everyone. And it leaves the biggest issue of all – climate change – unresolved.
The emerging policy thinking can be divided into three periods.
In the short term, up to the election in 2015, the priority is to maintain stability. Open conflicts don’t add to credibility or encourage investment. That is why John Hayes, briefly an energy minister and an open opponent of wind power, has been “promoted” out of the Department of Energy and into the role of Minister with Portfolio. If that can be called a “promotion”, so can Reading Football Club’s forthcoming move from the premier league to the championship.
That means ministerial criticism of renewable energy will cease. But it would be surprising if many new wind turbines are approved in sensitive areas – which tend to be Tory marginals. Shale gas developments will be encouraged but the companies concerned will have to persuade their own investors that the developments are commercial. The hope is that falling world gas, and now oil prices will keep energy costs down and this hope will be reinforced by a vigorous campaign against the energy companies accused of overpricing…..To Read More…..
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