Commenting on the speech by Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie at the Conservative Party Conference today, RenewableUK's Chief Executive Tara Singh said:
'Andrew Bowie is right that Britain needs abundant, affordable and secure energy to power an economy built on AI, data centres and advanced manufacturing. We share that ambition, and we welcome his commitment to being pragmatic and acting in the national interest.
'But the evidence is clear that it's our reliance on imported gas, not renewables, that is driving up bills. Household bills have gone up by £400 since the conflict in Iran began. That's the second major gas crisis in five years, after the last Conservative government spent £44 billion subsidising energy bills when Russia invaded Ukraine. By contrast, wind cut wholesale power prices by almost a third last year by pushing expensive gas off the system. This year it has saved consumers £6 billion by reducing the need to import gas at record high prices.
'Stopping new offshore wind auctions would halt the pipeline of new homegrown power just as demand is set to soar. It would leave households more exposed to the gas price shocks they have suffered repeatedly over the last decade. And it would hit the investment and jobs now flowing into our ports, factories and coastal communities
'Offshore wind is 40% cheaper to build than new gas plants. The pragmatic path to cheap, secure power is to build more clean energy here at home, along with the grid to carry it. We'd welcome the opportunity to talk through the evidence with Andrew and his team.'
RenewableUK's response to Onward's Firm Foundations report, which outlines six questions about its £320 billion savings claim, is available here.
Source: RenewableUK
