keeping-the-lights-on

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8 Keeping The Lights On Fuel poverty: In 2009 over 4 million households in England were classified as being in fuel poverty 22 — that is, spending over 10% of <strong>the</strong>ir disposable income on fuel. That figure equates to 18% of households, three times <strong>the</strong> number of households that were in fuel poverty in 2003. Since <strong>the</strong>n, rising fuel prices have doubled domestic energy costs and estimates suggest that this figure has now reached 6 million households. 23 As a result of “green” policies, DECC’s 24 own predictions show that by 2020 households on <strong>the</strong> lowest incomes can expect to see <strong>the</strong>ir energy bills increase fur<strong>the</strong>r, pushing even more people into fuel poverty. Are <strong>the</strong>re any “good” renewables? 6 million living in fuel poverty Source:www.alamy.com UKIP is not opposed in principle to renewables. Hydroelectricity, for example, is predictable, controllable and economic. But we are against widespread use of wind and solar, which offer an unpredictable and intermittent trickle of very expensive electricity, requiring 100% back-up. These renewables undermine economic competitiveness, damage our economy and threaten security of energy supply. We have no problem with private companies investing <strong>the</strong>ir own money in renewables, if <strong>the</strong>y can do so without subsidy. Solar and wind may have sensible niche applications — for example providing power in remote locations. We believe that <strong>the</strong>re is also a case for investigating tidal power to see if it can generate electricity at competitive prices.
Keeping The Lights On We believe that <strong>the</strong> market should play a key role in <strong>the</strong> selection of technologies in this (and o<strong>the</strong>r) industries — although we recognise that given <strong>the</strong> very long investment horizons of major infrastructure development, <strong>the</strong>re may be a case for government guarantees. In this context we criticise <strong>the</strong> EU for creating serious market distortion by favouring some lowcarbon technologies (wind, solar) over o<strong>the</strong>rs (e.g. nuclear). There are, however, some clear priorities: gas, nuclear, and coal. More gas capacity: Britain urgently needs more gas-fired capacity, because at this stage, and given <strong>the</strong> urgency of <strong>the</strong> UK’s generating capacity crisis, only gas-fired power plants can be built fast enough to fill <strong>the</strong> gap. Gas-fired power stations can be built in three to four years, whereas nuclear plants take ten to twelve years. North Sea Gas: Contrary to media assumptions, North Sea Gas has not run out, but it is clearly declining, and cannot be relied on long-term. 9
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Page 17: References 1 Euracoal - The Eu Asso

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