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U.K. Overlooking Gas in Drive to Reduce Emissions, Report Says
2010-09-22 14:45:54.270 GMT
By Ben Farey
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. is ignoring natural gas as
it strives to meet future energy needs and reduce carbon-dioxide
emissions, a lobby group said in a report published today.
"Firms are not being encouraged to think about investing
in gas-fired power generation in the long-term, which is exactly
what is required to fill the emerging electricity gap," David
Odling, energy policy manager at Oil & Gas U.K., said in London
at a presentation of the study by Poeyry Energy Consulting.
The U.K. needs to replace as much as 30 percent of its
aging power-station capacity over the next decade and plans to
install as many as 8,000 offshore wind turbines as it strives to
generate 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by
2020. The government's current renewable-energy plans may cost
more than if gas were relied on to a greater extent, according
to the report commissioned by Oil & Gas U.K.
"Pushing too hard, too quickly increases the risk to
consumers of high prices and reduced security of supply," said
Gareth Davies, one of the report's authors.
With Britain focused on short-term renewables targets, it
risks losing sight of the longer-term aim to produce less carbon
dioxide in the energy sector, Davies said. Carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases are blamed for global warming.
About 80 percent of U.K. homes are heated with gas and the
fuel is used to generate almost 50 percent of the country's
electricity. The country's North Sea production is in decline
and Britain is becoming increasingly reliant on fuel imports.
The government predicts the U.K. gas market will be entirely
dependent on imports by 2030.
Capture Emissions
Continued use of gas, the cleanest-burning fossil fuel,
would give time for new technologies and supply chains to
establish themselves, according to the report. Emissions from
gas-fired power stations can be captured and pumped underground
in future, it said.
"Our view is that a deliberate policy to reduce gas's
share of the energy mix represents a flawed pathway for society
to progress toward decarbonization," according to the report.
"Gas hardly features in policy makers' outlook."
The 2020 renewables target should be revised and a more
realistic timescale set, Davies said. The goal is likely to be
missed and is a distraction from the aim of an 80 percent
emissions cut by 2050 from 1990 levels, he said.
Odling said industry leaders should be more vocal in making
the case for gas worldwide as well as in Britain. BP Plc Chief
Executive Officer Tony Hayward called the production of gas from
shale formations in the U.S. a "quiet revolution" in a speech
in October last year.
A dispute between Russia and Ukraine over gas prices that
resulted in reduced supplies to Europe last year still clouds
politicians' energy strategies, Odling said.
"The message simply hasn't got through," Odling said. The
fear that oil and gas are to be found "in countries where there
are potential difficulties" has "got into the body politic."
For Related News and Information:
Top Gas Story Page: TGAS <GO>
U.K. Gas Prices: UGAS <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Raj Rajendran
To contact the reporters on this story:
Ben Farey in London at +44-20-7673-2369 or
bfarey@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss on +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
