Bravo, Lord Howell

Keeping lights on more important that climate, says Lord Howell, former energy minister - Telegraph

A former energy minister has warned that climate change will take second place to keeping the lights on in the current economic climate.

Lord Howell, the energy secretary in Mrs Thatcher's first government, said there is increasing likelihood of an energy gap in the near future as coal and nuclear power stations are decommissioned.

"Britain is now in real danger of running out of power in the period immediately ahead, thanks to incoherent national energy policy, misplaced green zealotry, dithering for years over nuclear power (for which no amount of eleventh hour enthusiasm can compensate ) and a huge thirst for imported gas which can only be met, if at all, at painfully high prices," he said.
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He blamed a scene full of "scares, shaky economics and scams", where too much money has been used for subsidising wind power and punishing CO2 emissions from big industry rather than investing in what he sees as more reliable solutions including cleaner coal, more gas storage and nuclear.