Shapps outlines energy plans

Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps has set out plans to strengthen Britain's long-term energy security and independence to help deliver a clean, prosperous future for the country.

The plans involve scaling up affordable, clean, homegrown power and building thriving green industries in Britain in an attempt to boost the country’s energy security and independence and reduce household bills for the long term and maintain a world-leading position in achieving net zero.

The plans include kickstarting investment into the UK’s emerging floating offshore wind industry by launching the £160 million fund to support port infrastructure projects and backing the first tranche of new green hydrogen production projects under the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund as part of development of this new power source.

Other measures include speeding up the planning process to attract investment – reforming the planning process to enable the building of more energy infrastructure including solar power and offshore wind projects more quickly; cutting household bills by expanding Government energy efficiency support to even more households and investing more than £380 million into boosting EV charging points and infrastructure across the country to support the rollout of electric vehicles.

Energy security secretary Grant Shapps said: "We have seen over the past year what can happen when global energy supplies are disrupted, and a tyrant like Putin uses energy as a weapon.

"Access to cheap, abundant and reliable energy provide the foundation stone of a thriving economy with our homes and businesses relying on it to deliver our future prosperity.

"Following our unprecedented cost of living support this Winter, which continues, this plan now sets out how we fix this problem in the long term to deliver wholesale UK electricity prices that rank amongst the cheapest in Europe, as we export our green growth expertise to the world."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "When global energy supplies are disrupted and weaponised by the likes of Putin, we have seen household bills soar and economic growth slow around the world.

"We have stepped in to shield people from its worst impacts by helping to pay around half the typical energy bill. But we are also stepping up to power Britain and ensure our energy security in the long term with more affordable, clean energy from Britain, so we can drive down energy prices and grow our economy.

"That’s why we’re driving forward plans to boost renewables, revive nuclear and build new thriving industries like carbon capture, which will in turn create good jobs across the country, provide new opportunities for British businesses at home and abroad, and maintain our world-leading action to reach net zero."

Image: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons