18 October 2006
Thanks for all your questions about Britain’s energy security policy which you posed to Malcolm Wicks.
The minister answered queries on the new UK-Norway gas pipeline, solar and wind power, the future use of coal technology and dealing with climate change.
Responding to a question about his own energy-conservation habits, Mr Wicks revealed:
"My ministerial car is a hybrid Toyota Prius; I’m about to have a micro wind turbine put on the roof of my house and we take recycling very seriously. In my garden my compost heaps are a wonder to behold. But actually I know I should be doing more to make my home more energy efficient - it’s on my conscience and on my agenda!"
Below you can find a transcript of the session.
Transcript of Malcolm Wicks webchat
Malcolm says: Hello, I’m Malcolm Wicks, the Energy Minister. Energy is a big subject. What do you think?
Stefan: Where are we up to with the Energy Review? What happens next is it all a done deal etc?
Malcolm replies: There’s a lot of interest. We’re now consulting on a range of proposals. A White Paper will be published next year.
Mrs Lynn Watson: Mr Blair said today: `"The fact is that over the next few years, this country will go from being 80 to 90% self-sufficient in oil and gas to importing 80 to 90%.” How did this minister allow to happen, what happened to being self-sufficient?
Malcolm replies: Oil and gas from the North Sea is in decline and also the electricity we get from existing Nuclear Reactors will decrease, as they are old and need to be decommissioned. So we’ll have to import most of the gas we need by 2020. But we need more ‘home grown’ energy and that’s why we are ambitious about increasing renewable technologies.
Lizzie Q: So a pipeline will produce 16 per cent of our gass - what about the other 84 per cent! I’m worried that the lights are going to go out unless the Russians give up some of their gass
Malcolm replies: The North Sea is still very important, but we will also be importing a good deal of gas from Norway (up to 20% during the Winter). Also there is liquefied natural gas from Qatar and several other places. There’s a lot of investment and the name of the game has to be sourcing gas from different places.
Danny Donaldson: So the Government has to go cap in hand to Norway for help in heating our homes? What happened to British pride - we used to be able to heat ourselves - our island is built on coal!!!
Malcolm replies: I take coal seriously. A new Coal Forum will explore the future of British coal. This also means looking seriously at clean coal technology. But we do need to import gas. It’s the main way we warm our homes and as long as we’re smart about getting gas from different places, in different ways we will secure our energy future.
Lee D: What’s happened to the idea of the coal forum
Malcolm replies: The idea is now practice. It meets for the first time in the next few weeks and I feel very ambitious about its work.
Alexander Smotrov: Dear Mr Wicks!
1) How did the crisis between Russia and Ukraine last January affect the Western attitude to Russia as a reliable provider of natural gas for Europe? Are there any fears in the UK that this situation can occur again?
2) Will the share of the Russian gas in the UK natural gas market increase in the future years?
Alexander Smotrov,
London
Malcolm replies: The Russia - Ukraine situation looks more stable. In fact Britain gets very little gas from Russia, but at the European Union level we need to build a positive relationship with Russia. And our guiding principle has to be avoiding putting all of our energy eggs in one basket.
Alison Cook: How likely are we to face gas shortages again this winter?
Malcolm replies: The National Grid Winter Outlook consultation says that gas supply will meet demand under all reasonable winter circumstances. More gas is coming on stream, but I’m not complacent. We monitor the situation on a daily basis. Let me emphasise however that there is absolutely no threat to householders.
Group 9: Do you think that the general public have been made aware of our rapidly depleting oil, and if they have why do you think we are not doing more to conserve what is left?
Malcolm replies: I think public opinion is aware that our own oil reserves are now in decline (although actually there’s still a lot of oil out there in the North Sea). But you are right. We need to do more about energy conservation and our recent Energy Review highlights this.
Harry Taylor: Why does the Government allow British Gas and so on increase their prices year on year. For pensioners it is becoming impossible to heat our homes. If we had a cold spell people like me would have to choose between heat and food.
Malcolm replies: Our regulator is looking very carefully at prices. Wholesale prices have come down but there is always a time-lag before changes affect householders. I can assure you that the regulator Ofgem are looking closely to ensure fair play. We have energy efficiency programmes - insulation, better heating systems - to help vulnerable customers and the winter fuel payment (£200 to someone over 60, £300 to the over 80s) will be sent out before Christmas.
Lee Latchford: Britain has about a third of all Europe’s off-shore wind energy - what are we doing to harness this natural resource?
Malcolm replies: Britain has huge potential for renewable energy. Yes, wind energy is abundant and there are significant developments in both onshore and offshore wind. And we’re not neglecting the potential of marine energy - wave and tidal. We want 20% of our energy coming from renewables by the year 2020.
Colin Cowes: Should all houses be encouraged to install small wind turbines onto the roofs of houses?
Malcolm replies: Microgeneration for our homes, perhaps a small wind turbine or a solar panel, etc is something we’re encouraging. It’s important for new housing construction but I think that many householders will want to take some action themselves to combat climate change. In fact I hope that my own wind turbine will be up on my roof soon.
Johnny Young: There’s a lot more to be done on tackling climate change. How does the minister square this circle - the more we heat ourselves the more we damage the environment
Malcolm replies: We must square this circle! Britain and the World needs energy. By an emphasis on energy conservation, a five-fold increase in renewable energy up to the year 2020 and, I would argue, a new generation of nuclear reactors, we can have plentiful supplies of clean energy.
Alex MacDonald: You mentioned that the winter outlook has improved on the gas side -i.e. we have more import infastructure. But what about on the power side? Is the government concerned that current problems with nuclear power plants at British Energy will create a tight power supply this winter?
Malcolm replies: National Grid have the job of balancing electricity supply and demand. There is spare capacity of about 22% precisely to deal with problems that occur from time to time. This kind of incident is built into our contingency plans.
Sarah Lambert: I am really concerned about proposals for nuclear power plants. Nuclear is expensive and we still have not worked out what to do with the waste it creates. I cannot begin to understand how new build will do more to solve the energy problem than to create new problems. Surely the huge expenditure that would be needed to build new nuclear power stations could be better spent on real renewable energy sources?
Malcolm replies: The economics of nuclear will determine whether any new reactors are built. This is for the market, not government. Because of the high price of gas and oil the economics have moved in favour of nuclear, but I want to stress that this Government will not subsidise nuclear or organise any deals on prices. And it won’t drive out investment in renewables. Why? Because we require our supply companies to source a proportion of energy from renewables and we want this to build up to 20% by 2020. Regarding waste, there is a legacy of waste which this Government is determined to tackle. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has already started on this task.
Iain: What is the government view on foreign ownership of nuclear power stations - for example would we let state-owned EdF or Gazprom build a new nuclear station in the UK or acquire a stake in British Energy ??
Malcolm replies: We believe in a free market and already three of our major supply companies are foreign owned. The important thing is that nuclear power stations are built to a high specification with all the appropriate safeguards.
james brand: In the energy review, the government gave a tacit commitment to support new nuclear build, but suggested that investment would be the responsibility of the private sector and there would be no government subsidy.
If UK power prices were to fall to a level whereby new nuclear build was not economical, would the government reconsider the potential for a subsidy (a nuclear RO?), in order to achieve its goal of security of energy supply.
Many thanks
Malcolm replies: No! We will not subsidise new nuclear. I think it has a role to play in the future, but if not we could see the further development of renewable technologies and more generally by developing clean coal technology and carbon capture and storage we can use fossil fuels sensibly and cleanly.
Bob: Malcolm, what are you doing to conserve energy yourself?
Malcolm replies: My ministerial car is a hybrid Toyota Prius; I’m about to have a micro wind turbine put on the roof of my house and we take recycling very seriously. In my garden my compost heaps are a wonder to behold. But actually I know I should be doing more to make my home more energy efficient - it’s on my conscience and on my agenda!
Mohammed: When will Sir Nicholas Stern be producing his report for the Treasury and what will be in it?
Malcolm replies: Before Christmas. It is a major study of the economics of climate change and I think he will argue that urgent action is both necessary and makes economic sense.
Gillian Merrit: I am encouraged by your plans to use the Thames Gateway, where I live, as a low-carbon experiment. what progress is being made in developing emerging technologies?
Malcolm replies: As you know there are proposals for sustainable devolpment and it is planned that new housing construction will include a most exacting, sustainable standard. It is important that new housing incorporates high standards of energy efficiency.
MArk Lathwell: Last time you spoke about driving a fuel cell car and said there was lots of exciting work going on in fuel cells - what can you tell us about the Government’s attitude to this technology
Malcolm replies: We will establish a new energy technology institute to encourage these ideas. We will see a revolution in motor transport in coming years. We want to work at the European level to encourage new technologies and a new generation of clean and green vehicles.
John Barnes: Why on earth on all new build properties is it not a mandatory building regulation that solar panels are fitted into all south or west roof elevations??
The marginal costs of doing so during construction would be trivial compared to the proven benefits
Malcolm replies: Already a large number of progressive local councils demand renewable energy as an integral part of construction. We’re consulting on how to encourage this development.
Rona MacDonald: DTI’s energy review document published in July, The Energy Challenge, is largely an electricity review. But, only 35% of our primary energy supplies are transformed into electricity. Why has the government had so little to say about the other 65% of our primary energy which is overwhelmingly oil (for transport) and gas (for heating)?
Rona Macdonald
Public Affairs Manager
UK Offshore Operators Association Limited
Malcolm replies: We recognise the importance of heat, of course. We will soon be consulting on ideas about distributed energy and this includes combined heat and power. And more efficient transport is also a real priority.
Moderator says: Sorry everyone, the Minister has been called to the House of Commons to take part in an important vote - he’ll be back in just a few minutes to carry on the webchat and answer more questions!!
Moderator says: Ok, the Minister is back now!
erica: Do you think the public should be more engaged on energy and climate change?Is there going to be a mini summary of the Energy Review document that was published in July?
Malcolm replies: Hotfoot from the House of Commons vote, the answer to your question is a very enthusiastic yes. Of course there’s a role for international bodies, the G8, the UN and for governments worldwide, Presidents and Prime Ministers, but I think the real key here is the individual. I know that my Croydon constituents are increasing concerned about global warming. Each of us can make a difference, currently most of us are part of the problem. But by looking critically at our own homes and transport plans we can become part of the solution. And of course concerned individuals as diligent voters can urge all political parties to push this one up the agenda.
Lex Waspe: How long do you think it will take before people will start to be able to make a real impact on C02 emissions? (microgeneration, energy efficiency, etc)
Malcolm replies: Each of us can make a real impact now. The technologies are becoming available to improve our homes, energy-wise and to use cleaner forms of transport. Act now to save the planet - not a mere slogan, a practical step.
David Lane: I’m heartened to see your positive view on seeking new ways to enable us to carry on our lives, as opposed to stopping us using our cars etc.
Malcolm replies: We need to get more investment into public transport of course, but many people need to use their cars. Through the development of bio fuels and new car technologies people can both use their cars sensibly, but with less environmental damage.
Shannon: Do you use energy efficient light bulbs? Is your TV ever left on standby?
Malcolm replies: Yes, but I need to replace more of the old ones. OK sometimes the TV is on standby but I’m getting better at switching off at the set.
David Lane: Is the North Sea oil and gas really running out, or is it a question of economics?
Malcolm replies: Two things are true. There is still a great deal of oil and gas in the North Sea and we want to explore in difficult territory, such as west of Shetland. Perhaps 40-50% of reserves are still there. But the second thing that’s true is that there’s a decline. That’s why we need to be ambitious about energy diversity in the future.
Daniel Fineren (Reuters): Every person in Britain, indeed the EU, could stop producing any carbon dioxide today and it would make no difference to climate change unless China stops building one coal fired power plant a week.
Would a more effective way of beating climate change perhaps be to stop buying Chinese manufactured goods?
Malcolm replies: The UK is responsible for 2% of carbon emmissions and we take responsibility for tackling that. However we need to act globally. China, but also India and other emerging economies like Mexico, South Africa, will be consuming huge amounts of energy. Their governments understand the challenge and the European Union is working with the Chinese to help develop a capacity for clean coal technology. It is also about finance: acting now and investing now will be cheaper in the long run.
Malcolm says: Thanks for your interest and challenging questions. I’ve enjoyed the web chat and want to make this a regular feature of my work as energy minister.
Moderator says: Thanks for all your questions, we’ll be holding more webchats before Christmas. Check back to www.pm.gov.uk to find out more.
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