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Introducing radical reforms to ensure the UK has enough electricity to meet increasing demand, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, told Parliament: "We have to stop dithering – you can have blackouts or you can have investment. Which do you want?"
Speaking on 12 July, Mr Huhne said: “Over the next decade, around a quarter of our existing power stations will close, threatening the security of our electricity supplies.”
To meet the threat of power cuts, the Minister said he was introducing measures to “diversify the electricity generation mix” and to encourage investment in “secure, sustainable and home-grown, low-carbon technologies.”
The proposals outlined in the Electricity Reform White Paper and accompanying Renewables Roadmap include plans to ban waste wood from landfill sites that will be considered next year, so that additional sustainable and low carbon electricity can be generated from biomass fuel sources.
The Barton Renewable Energy Plant proposed by Peel Energy would use waste wood diverted from landfill to help bridge possible future shortfalls by generating enough electricity to meet the demands of approximately 37,000 homes for the next 25 years.
Peel Energy project manager Jon England said: “Urgent action is needed so that more electricity can be generated from reliable, domestic fuel sources that help to safeguard against further unexpected and extreme rises to electricity bills in the future.
“People understand that energy supply worries and rising electricity prices are here to stay unless we act now. The biomass plant that Peel is proposing in Davyhulme would contribute to the government’s plans to solve our energy problems by generating reliable electricity in the area for years to come.” |
