Westminster Diary - 26th January 2006

Thursday, 26th January 2006

Parliament will soon be making difficult decisions about energy policy. We all know that the UK's own fossil fuels will not sustain us for very much longer. We must therefore choose how to replace them.

We could meet our energy needs by importing oil and gas. The problem with doing so is the political instability of the likely supplier countries and the possibility of being held to economic ransom over these vital resources. We could invest heavily in renewable energy technologies. These technologies are still at a relatively early stage of development however, and the danger is that, even with substantial investment, they may not be able to power the national grid. Alternatively, we could build a new generation of nuclear power stations, with all the safety and environmental concerns that come with them.

As I said, difficult decisions. In my view, the right decision will involve striking the right balance between our medium and long term energy strategy. I do not find the prospect of becoming reliant on other countries for our power attractive, especially when one considers upon whom we are likely to be reliant. I support investment in renewable technologies and I am convinced that they represent the best and most environmentally sustainable way to meet our long-term energy needs. Moreover, I think we need to invest in research on a wide range of renewables - not just on-shore wind, but also off-shore wind, tidal and hydro-electric power, photovoltaic cells, biomass and biofuels of all kinds. Only then will we know which of these will give us a power source which is not just sustainable, but economically viable on a national scale. Unfortunately, we cannot be sure that any of these technologies will be able to meet those requirements when our oil and gas run out. I am unwilling to gamble our country's medium-term energy needs on unproven outcomes.

There is of course another element in this debate I have not mentioned. It is vital, whatever else we do, that we promote energy efficiency in all settings to reduce the amount of energy we consume in the first place.

In the end, though, we are left with nuclear power. It may not be ideal, it certainly has risks attached, but I cannot at the moment see a viable alternative answer to our medium-term needs. One thing is for sure - we cannot wait to make our difficult decisions on energy until the lights go out.

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Updated on Thursday, 26th January 2006