Dr. Neil Bentley has a conference in London with local business leaders in which he warned that the Government must take firm action in providing more certainty in the energy related policies, this will help the business growth and the investors confidence. In his own words :
“Energy investment is as much about growth as it is about secure, low-carbon power. Giving energy policy speeches can sometimes feel like being stuck in a time warp. While we support the Government’s direction of travel, the speed of progress is pretty frustrating.
“The energy bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, to boost our economy as well as head off our energy challenges. To grab that opportunity before it is too late, we need less politics, more policy.”
Mr Ed Davey, the Energy and Climate Change secretary, attended the event also and took a firm position regarding the numerous issues which plague the United Kingdom's energy policy, it was rumored that he had a special meeting with the four most senior Coalition politicians, they discussed the controversies regarding the decision of Treasury to finance gas over state of the art and renewable green technologies.
Mr. Bentley said about this gas related issue :
“All the evidence points towards a balanced and diverse energy mix as the most cost effective pathway to decarbonisation. This includes new nuclear, new renewables, new carbon capture and storage and new gas.
“Government is right to encourage safe shale gas extraction as it makes sense to maximise the amount of energy we can produce at home at a reasonable cost. But gas alone isn’t the answer.
“Most modelling shows future European gas prices rising, with or without an influx of unconventional gas, and so from both a cost and a security perspective, a mixed portfolio of generating technologies looks favourable.
“So let’s stop arguing over the energy mix and focus on attracting investment to create jobs and growth as quickly as possible.”
He also underlined the three top business directions for the UK energy bill, first, the CBI has concerns about the confusion in the markets over the total sum of financing available for future incentive payments in green technology starting with 2015, there are rumors about the Treasury planning to heavily reduce subsidies due to a tight budget in 2015.
Another point in question was how the proposed capacity mechanism will ensure security of supply, Mr Bentley asked for more information and transparency to be sure that companies can make right business decisions on what to do with the existing infrastructure/power plants.
The third point was the reiteration of CBI's approval for introducing tougher carbon taxes in the energy bill, as Mr. Bentley observed:
“Let me be clear: the CBI strongly supports the Climate Change Act and the carbon budgets. The energy bill must deliver the pace of decarbonisation required to achieve them, which means that the levy control framework and the delivery plans must be set with them firmly in mind.
“This link to the existing Climate Change Act targets should be enshrined in the energy bill. But when we ask financiers what they need to help them make investment decisions, they don’t mention more targets. What they’re crying out for is the substantive policy detail I’ve set out.”
Mr. Bentley also declared: “We are seeing UK energy policy get increasingly political. Are you for green or for growth? Are you for renewables or for gas? Fruitless debates over these false choices can seem like they’re just noises off, but they really matter.
“With every new story that adds to the sense of uncertainty, I hear of more phone calls from overseas head offices to UK executives asking whether it is worth putting further work into scoping out possible investments in the UK.”
Mr. Ed Davey took a stand in which he tried to relax the investors and to diminish the concerns expressed by the CBI, he said that the next energy bill will make billions of pounds available for investments in the green/renewable energy infrastructure, he responded to CBI's worries by the following statement:
“Low carbon is a fast growing sector, where we know there are shovel-ready projects ready to create jobs and inject investment into local economies up and down the UK. This vital infrastructure will power our economy and keep energy affordable for decades to come.
“The coalition is absolutely committed to getting these reforms right, through legislation and through the signals we send. We have listened to investors and today have set out further measures to provide the certainty they need to make decisions that will benefit us all.”
There was a clear hint from the Minister that the UK's government will seriously consider a carbon target for the power sector, he said :
“A strong case has been made by many investors in energy infrastructure for a decarbonisation target range for the power sector. Such a range would make clear our continued commitment to our climate goals”.
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