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Coal-fired power stations win coalition reprieve
Business Digest: Dirty coal plants could go ahead as government puts promised pollution standards on hold
Energy companies opposed to tough new environmental emissions standards expected in the upcoming Energy Bill will be delighted to hear that the coalition is dropping its immediate commitment to an 'environmental performance standard' (EPS), according to a report in the Guardian.
Green campaigners are furious. They believe it means dirty coal-fired power stations such as Kingsnorth could go ahead.
Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg campaigned personally for carbon emission cuts while they were in opposition. Last year, the Tories and Lib Dems even tried to force the Brown government to introduce them.
But government sources say they will not be bringing forward legislation this autumn. The coalition will instead open a consultation on the EPS, and present a white paper on the issue in the new year.
The decision to put the new standards on hold follows lobbying from energy companies - and Tory backbenchers - who claim renewable energy technology is too undeveloped in Britain to make the EPS feasible.
Read a full report at the Guardian. ·
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It tuns out that The guardian has been a bit premature. Todays paper has the following letter from Cchris Huhne in it.
"The idea that we are "watering down" our commitment is simply incorrect (Dirtiest coal power plants win reprieve, 16 August): this government has committed to introducing an emissions performance standard. We are moving as quickly as possible and our consultation on a radical reform of the electricity market to deliver secure, affordable and low carbon energy will be out within six months of the election, while a white paper will be published within a year. The view that this might raise the possibility of new coal-fired power stations "slipping through the system" is ludicrous.
We consider planning applications thoroughly and will not allow any new coal power station to be built unless equipped with carbon capture and storage. While we will consult on the final details of an emissions performance standard, I am clear that without CCS it would be impossible to meet such a standard. However, an EPS on its own is not a magic bullet to decarbonise our economy. We have inherited an energy system that has suffered from a lack of clear direction and was not fit for purpose. That is why we will be implementing comprehensive electricity market reform to ensure that we can have a secure, low-carbon, affordable electricity mix for decades to come.
Chris Huhne MP"
Itâ??s said that a week is a long time in politics. In this case it is three weeks. Three weeks since Chris Huhne, UKâ??s Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change was addressing the House of Commons and stressing the importance the Government attached to presenting the first Annual Energy Statement. I cannot find any reference in this document, nor in the statement he made to the House of Commons on July 27th , about the need to develop new, unrebated coal fired power stations. If the prediction in the article turns out to be true then I think that, as a matter of urgency, the Secretary of State should issue a statement on why the policy has undergone such a dramatic change in so short a time.
No doubt, quite rightly, campaigns to oppose the building of new unrebated power stations will gain much support and much media attention. However my more immediate concern is the impact this policy will have on the opencast coal industry and new opencast planning applications. If this change in policy turns out to be true, that unrebated coal fired power stations are now possible, then Coal Operators will be able to cite the need for domestically produced coal to fire these new power stations. This will be the â??bulldozerâ?? clause in their arguments that will push aside almost all objections, as was the case recently with the result of the Public Inquiry into the Huntington Lane Surface Mine Application which was published last year.
On Sunday night (15/8/10) BBC 1â??s Countryfileâ??s John Craven Investigates Report on Opencast Mining warned that in future, new opencast mine applications will be like the current application before Leicestershire County Council for the Minorca Surface Mine, green field applications. If this change in policy is confirmed, then expect to see a new kind of Battle for Britain erupt across Britain as local people defend hedges, fields. trees, valleys and moorland from such depredations. The Programme warned that it could happen near you. This change in policy, if true, will mean that it will happen near you sooner than you think.
Steve Leary , near the proposed Minorca Surface Mine, Measham. Leicestershire England