By Giulia Petroni and Joe Hoppe
The U.K. government backed the development of new gas-fired power plants through the 2030s, saying the move aims to ensure security of supply and reduce costs as the country moves forward with its net-zero targets.
"We need to reach our 2035 goals in a sustainable way that doesn't leave people without energy on a cloudy, windless day," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. "I will not gamble with our energy security."
U.K. Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho will set out a strategy to boost gas power capacity in a speech later on Tuesday, according to a release from the U.K. Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. She is expected to warn that, without gas backing up renewable energy, the country faces a genuine possibility of blackouts.
The plan envisages broadening existing laws that require new gas-power plants to be built in a way that enables their conversion to low-carbon alternatives, such as carbon capture, in the future. The plants are also set to run less frequently as the country rolls out low-carbon technologies, the government said.
While the government said the move wouldn't affect its net zero targets, the plan is seen by many as back-sliding on previous commitments to decarbonize grids by 2035.
"The government's cunning plan to boost energy security and meet our climate goals is to make Britain more dependent on the very fossil fuel that sent our bills rocketing and the planet's temperature soaring," said Doug Parr, policy director at Greenpeace UK.
Parr cautioned that the building of new gas plants could further put off green energy investors, damaging energy security rather than improving it.
Last year, the U.K. pushed back a planned national ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to 2035 from 2030, and a planned ban on oil and LPG-fired boilers for homes off the gas grid to 2035 from 2026.
According to the National Grid, the U.K.'s electric power transmission network, gas generated around 33% of the country's electricity needs over the last 12 months. Renewables generated around a further 37%, of which the vast majority was wind power. Other sources, namely nuclear and biomass, generated the remainder. The last remaining coal-fired plant is expected to close in September.
Opposition party Labour said in January that, if it takes power, it plans to decarbonize the electricity system by 2030, earlier than the ruling Conservative party's 2035 goal. Both parties expect gas-fired plants to play small roles in backing-up power supplies after those dates.
Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com and Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-12-24 0938ET
