Our Energy Security

This week Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State for Energy at the Department for Energy and Climate Change gave a briefing on our energy security needs. I am not in the habit of making party political points just for the sake of it but behind leaving our economy in a complete mess, failing to secure our long term energy needs is Labour's second worst legacy they have left this country.

The Minister explained that at this present time we are able to cope with demand, however, by the second half of this decade we are going to face a problem as energy demand could increase by 50% to 100%. Sixteen of our power stations will close by 2018 due to stricter air quality standards and nuclear stations reaching the end of their operating lives.

We have to take some serious decisions now in order to secure our energy security by the end of the decade or the lights will literally go out. A big challenge will also be to keep energy prices stable but I am confident that by using a mix of energy sources including many types of renewable energy, nuclear power and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage facilities as well as installing 'smart metering' and helping consumers manage their own demand, we can not only avoid disaster but we can keep energy bill prices stable.

I am not convinced that onshore wind energy has a part to play in securing our energy security needs as it is ineffective, unreliable and the energy produced cannot be stored to be used when demand is high. I am in the process of seeking a meeting with Charles Hendry to discuss onshore wind energy further.

At the recent briefing Charles explained that it was the Government's position that onshore wind farms needed to play a substantial role in hitting our 2020 targets to reduce carbon emissions by 20% and have renewable energy contribute 20% of our energy needs. He explained that the Government had removed the regional renewable energy quotas and will be making sure that wind farms are only built in areas that are windy! There will also be an incentive for communities who do host wind farms to benefit from the business rates that may be generated and he explained that the Government were looking into ways that energy bill prices could be cheaper for those living closer to wind farm developments.

I do appreciate the Government's desire to work with communities with wind farms, however I'm still sceptical of the need to proceed with such an inefficient form of energy production simply to meet our 2020 targets. Many countries in Europe are turning away from wind energy and I think it would be far more sensible to invest in efficient renewable energy infrastructure to provide greater energy security for the long term. I am determined not to see this Government make the same mistakes as the last Government and I will keep you informed of how my meeting with the Minister progresses!

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