We've got the power to keep the lights on
Friday 12th February 2010
Last year saw the most unprecedented global financial crisis of modern times. Governments around the world literally faced with their economies "running out" of working cash were forced to adopt expensive strategies to fill the gaps left by major financial institutions which had failed. In the space of a few months' names that you could quite literally bank on disappeared. In the UK a new phrase entered our vocabulary as deep within the Treaasury the manderins "Quantatively Eased", the money supply back to a point of balance whereby the normal trading cycle could kick in. The prospect of paying the bill for many years to come is an unfortunate legacy to leave to our children as we start a new decade. The bill of some £175 billion however is largely written on paper. As a meerkat might say "Simples".
So now with the financial situation is dealt with, perhaps we can turn our attention a slightly more pressing challenge; that of keeping the lights on as we journey towards delivering secure, affordable energy to power the economy in a lower carbon future. If the financial crisis was "fixed" in 18 months, we face the prospect of 18 years before some of the new infrastructure to help deliver baseload electricity for the UK will begin to operate. The programe of new civil nucler power stations is now moving forward apace, to provide consistent reliable baseload for the future. Much has been learnt since the first electicity generated by nuclear power stations when energy "too cheap to meter" was fed into the national grid. In the East of England we can see it all in the space of a mile of coastline at Sizewell, in Suffolk. From the progress of Sizwell A at 400MW, now closed for decommissioing, through Sizwell B at 1.2 GW, some 3% 0f UK's electricity, to the site proposed for Sizewell C due to generate 2.4 GW in 2018.
Also at Sizewell, the final touches are being put to one of the new breed of electricity sub station, many of which will be built offshore, that will be need to be installed as part of the process of harvesting the "free" wind from offshore. The numbers are enormous, as are the costs with some 7000 turbines, each taller than Norwich Cathedral's impressive spire due to be installed by 2018, the majority off our own East Coast, in the Southern North Sea.
The regions energy supply chain has the skills, capability and capacity to continue supporting our modern energy industry, honed over the past 40 years of supplying and in the future storing, natural gas for UK plc. Some 35% of the nation's gas arrives at Bacton in Norfolk through pipelines from Europe but more importantly our own indigenous gas from deep reservoirs off our coast. An offshore industry served by many world class businesses based on a vibrant coastal cluster of activity in Norfolk and Suffolk, through the towns and ports of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. And in the pursuit of secure, low carbon supplies of energy for the future, technolgies for harnessing power from clean coal through carbon capture and storage and underground coal gassification will all have a home in our own back yard. All of these will contribute to providing a balanced mix of energy.
To deliver all of this and reap the sustainable economic benefits from energy generation for our future generation and begin to payback the paper debt of quantative easing will need us all to think and act with clarity and focus. But to provide the tangible jobs and infrastructure to produce tomorrow's energy we must begin today to play to our regional strengths. This is all very real; there is no "quantative energy" fix to keep the lights on. We must promote with one compelling voice our regions unique opportunity to contribute and benefit through its supply chain and natural and built assets. They will all be required to work in harmony to energise our future.
Source: EDP The Business, Friday 12th Frebruary 2010.
