The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has called on the next government to support renewable energy, such as solar.
As oil and gas production from the North Sea declines, the country will become more dependent on imports over the next five years.
Using renewable energy, such as solar energy, can provide some of the cheapest energy on the market. With production in the North Sea at risk of declining, Britain now has a unique opportunity to transition to a cleaner electricity system – something the government has set a 2035 target for.
According to the ECIU analysis, a British climate think tank, the regulator and statistics from the North Sea Transition Authority show that new oil and gas permits “would do little to stem the rise of imported energy.”
As a result, the ECIU emphasized that a “combination of renewable energy sources, insulating houses so that they require less energy to heat them, and switching from gas boilers to heat pumps and from petrol to electric cars will reduce the increase in dependence on imports of energy, perpetuating dependence on energy imports or even boosting Britain’s current level of energy self-sufficiency.”
It is worth noting that the energy sector is one of the main focuses of the upcoming general elections. Labour, which has emphasized its support for renewable energy through the creation of Great British Energy, will soon look to scale up projects. On the other hand, the Conservatives have sent mixed signals on renewables, which has eroded investor confidence in the sector.
The ECIU appears to agree with Labour’s position on reducing the country’s dependence on oil and gas. The organization stated that if the new North Sea permits produced the maximum expected amount of oil and gas, without new clean technologies, the amount of energy we use that is dependent on imports in 2030 would be “25% higher than today. would be a quarter worse by that measure.”
Commenting on the findings, Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin, head of analysis at the ECIU, said: “The UK could be moving in the opposite direction when it comes to energy security over the next five years. If you want more of the UK’s energy to be produced in Britain, and as the North Sea continues its inevitable decline, UK wind and solar energy will make the biggest difference and do the heavy lifting for UK energy security.
“According to the regulator’s own figures, new oil and gas from the North Sea would make a marginal difference. By switching to renewable energy sources, electric heat pumps and insulating houses so that they waste less energy, we will move away from gas. Anyone who has paid an energy bill in the last two years knows the risks of dependence on the international gas markets, which largely determine the price we pay here in Britain, and energy bills are expected to rise again as we head into winter. ”
This article first appeared on our sister site Current±.
