Schneider Electric has responded to the UK Government's plans for gas, with customer marketing manager, Darren Farrar, outlining his concern.
He said the best way forward 'is one with a balanced energy mix that draws on the strengths and compensates for the weaknesses of each and every technology. But many feel George Osborne's commitment to invest in around 37GW of new gas capacity takes us down a path that has been trod many times before.'
'As Government provides the go ahead for fracking to continue across the UK, it feels as though there is a greater shift toward gas energy generation taking place.'
He continued: 'Recent estimates have shown there could be around £1.5 trillion worth of shale gas buried beneath the UK's surface but it is unclear exactly how much there is and of its potential to bring down prices. The UK certainly won't see energy bill reductions like those seen in the US.'
'I'm not convinced that a strategy built on 'might' is good enough when large swathes of the UK countryside are at risk and our security of supply is in no way strengthened.'
Mr Farrar points out that the Committee on Climate Change has challenged the Government's own statistics on investment, highlighting that renewables should be seen as 'an insurance policy' against rising gas and carbon prices. He said that it has concluded that household energy bills could be as much as £600 more per year if the UK is reliant on gas, compared to £100 more if it concentrated on renewables.
While he said there are benefits to a renewed interest in gas such as job creation and also as a back-up to intermittent wind energy, Mr Farrar added: 'I can't help but feel however, that the Government is using gas generation as a sticking plaster for the energy industry, only to push the UK into a greater reliance on imported gas in the future and as a result further risk security of supply and the affordability of energy.'
