Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
LONDON, Jan. 22 -- The UK's reliance on natural gas for electric power generation will soar to as much as 65% by 2025 if the government doesn't fully implement its new proposed energy bill, Ernst & Young warned in a recent report.
E&Y said the UK's security of supply could be jeopardized as gas imports rise due to falling domestic supplies. The report said, "Inaction and investment by default solely in [combined-cycle gas turbines] could see the UK's dependence on gas increase by as much as 30% to 2025."
Included in the energy bill, published earlier this month, the UK government paved the way for a new generation of nuclear power plants by inviting private companies to carry out projects (OGJ Online, Jan. 14, 2008). Failure to stimulate the building of new nuclear capacity, according to the report, would effectively commit the UK to a "no nuclear" future by 2025.
Tony Ward, E&Y utilities director, said energy companies will have to invest as much as £45 billion by 2025 to develop nuclear and clean coal projects to meet the UK's needs. This would be £17 billion more than an alternative mix with unrestricted expansion of gas-fired capacity.
However, burdensome planning rules and regulatory uncertainty remain barriers to potential investment, and these must be changed, the report noted.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
