{"id":7000,"date":"2015-12-01T17:03:55","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T17:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=7000"},"modified":"2015-12-02T17:14:41","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T17:14:41","slug":"whos-going-to-keep-the-lights-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=7000","title":{"rendered":"‘Who’s going to keep the lights on?’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As UniteLive reported today<\/a> (December 1), the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to axe public health spending has created a false economy\u00c2\u00a0-\u00c2\u00a0short-term savings now will mean ballooning expenditures in the long run for the NHS.<\/p>\n

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But it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t only in the arena of public health that chancellor George Osborne is blinded by short-term thinking in his singleminded quest to achieve a budget surplus by 2020.<\/p>\n

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Not mentioned in his autumn statement nor highlighted in Treasury documents, the government quietly scrapped its \u00c2\u01411bn competition for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology last week.<\/p>\n

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The move came just six months before the funds for the competition, four years in the making, were slated to be awarded.<\/p>\n

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As UniteLive noted in September<\/a>, after power giant Drax pulled out of the White Rose CCS project at its coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire, the green technology that had the potential to transform UK energy was seriously threatened.<\/p>\n

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Carbon capture and storage is a technology whereby harmful carbon emissions generated by, for example, coal plants, are reduced to virtually zero. This is done by capturing waste carbon dioxide and storing it underground.<\/p>\n

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This process enables a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdirty\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 source of energy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d such as coal, which plentiful in the UK \u00e2\u20ac\u201d to continue powering the country indefinitely without damaging the environment.<\/p>\n

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But now, after the \u00c2\u01411bn competition has been cancelled as part of Osborne\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s slew of public spending cuts, the future of CCS is beyond bleak.<\/p>\n

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Clear pledge reversed<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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The move is also yet another reversal of a clear pledge in the Tory manifesto, which stated, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe will protect our planet for our children\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6committing \u00c2\u01411bn for carbon capture and storage.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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One of the contestants in the competition was a consortia led by Royal Dutch Shell which was soon planning to submit proposals to install CCS at a Scottish gas power station.<\/p>\n

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Shell criticised the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have worked tirelessly over the last two years to progress our plans for this project,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Shell noted.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt has the potential to bring huge value to the UK, both in terms of immediate emissions reductions and developing knowledge for the benefit of a wider industry.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Chief executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association Dr Luke Warren likewise lambasted the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s move to cut the \u00c2\u01411bn in funding, calling the news \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdevastating\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOnly six months ago the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manifesto committed \u00c2\u01411 billion of funding for CCS,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMoving the goal posts just at the time when a four year competition is about to conclude is an appalling way to do business.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis announcement is a real blow to confidence for companies investing in CCS,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Warren added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe call on the Government to come forward \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as a matter of urgency \u00e2\u20ac\u201c with their plans for CCS as this technology is critical for the\u00c2\u00a0UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s economic, industrial and climate policies. Without concrete government support for CCS the UK will lose the opportunity for cost-effective decarbonisation.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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‘Death knell’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Unite researcher Colin Potter also condemned the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to cut funding, saying that the move all but \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsounds the death knell\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 for CCS, which he said will have serious consequences for the security of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s energy supply.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere just aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t viable alternatives at the moment \u00e2\u20ac\u201d renewables such solar and wind power have their own problems,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Potter explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bGermany is a leader in solar power, but at the time of the most recent eclipse, the German government was forced to stop power to, for example, aluminium smelting plants, and had to draw from other energy sources such as nuclear.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Potter also pointed to the fact that there is no new power to fill the gap as nuclear power stations close, with no replacement plants for at least another 20 years.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWho\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to keep the lights on?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Potter noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis puts us in a very perilous position and makes us dependent on imported energy.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Potter added that the repercussions of the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision withdraw its support for CCS go far beyond energy from coal. This is because when a CCS facility is built, other carbon dioxide emitting industries can tap into the same pipeline.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere are many other CO2 waste producing industries, such as concrete and chemicals, which were relying on the development of a CCS facility so they could tap into that same pipeline,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNow, these industries too are in grave danger because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll either have to shut down or pay the government through the nose in carbon taxes. Either way, a great number of jobs could be put at risk.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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The government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to axe \u00c2\u01411bn in support of CCS will also threaten the future of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), Potter noted. CCU enables carbon waste to be captured and recycled by being put to use in the production of plastics or for aviation or shipping oil, among other products.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bCCU is the next big thing and has enormous potential to play a part in a sustainable energy policy,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because while we do have solar powered cars, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t power a major aircraft with solar or wind. In this sense, CCU is the way forward. But if you kill off CCS in the UK, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be effectively killing off CCU, too.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis latest decision from the government makes little sense and is incredibly short-sighted,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Potter noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government must act soon to support the development of this fundamental technology, because the longer we wait, the more the costs of CCS will skyrocket. At that point, it will simply be too late.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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As UniteLive reported today (December 1), the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to axe public health spending has created a false economy\u00c2\u00a0-\u00c2\u00a0short-term savings now will mean ballooning expenditures in the long run for the NHS.     But it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t only in the arena of public health that chancellor George Osborne is blinded by short-term thinking in his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[447,383,54],"wps_subtitle":" Govt axes \u00c2\u01411bn in pledged energy support","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7000"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7000"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7001,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7000\/revisions\/7001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}