28 March 2024
Spotlight falls on gas as UK energy options narrow
Publication date: 09 September 2016
Gas Strategies Group
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ISSN: 0964-8496
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As UK politicians return to parliament after the summer break, high on the political agenda will be the urgent reform of energy policy to avert a looming electricity supply crunch. The clear narrowing of policy options presents a major challenge: the government’s stated position is for coal to be phased out, a process already under way through carbon policy and market forces. Renewables will continue to grow, but there are questions over pace and the challenge of intermittency. New nuclear could be a non-starter, depending on the controversial review of EDF’s proposed Hinkley Point C project in Somerset. Oil is history. Biomass is niche. And interconnectors can only achieve so much. Which leaves natural gas – but only if the government can find more effective ways to incentivise investment. Gas Matters examines the UK's options in the second of a two-part series.