If the optimism expressed by politicians about green issues could be turned into an energy source, Net Zero would already be achieved. Sadly, decarbonisation to a fixed timeline – be it electricity by 2035 or everything else by 2050 – is not only implausible but actively dangerous. The UK is more likely to decarbonise slowly, as expensively as possible, and risk blackouts and freezeouts in the process. This will, in turn, risk the elderly and vulnerable freezing to death in these cold climes, and the terror of dark nights where nothing works.
Last year, the government peddled a myth of ever-falling renewable prices. This year, ministers are trying to find new ways to subsidise the industry to avoid embarrassing project failures, while simultaneously threatening past projects with a five-year windfall tax. This sends a confusing message to investors of support today, but retrospective punishment tomorrow if they succeed. That is if the projects can even be deployed; there are still five to seven year waits for grid connections and challenges to grid stability as the share of renewables rises, further increasing the risk of delays.
The slow deployment of Net Zero technologies has a silver lining. It means a continued reliance on reliable gas and oil, delivering a security of supply. It means we can continue driving our cars and heating our homes until the alternatives are ready. But, of course, that’s not the plan.
Instead, the government has set future bans for gas boilers and petrol and diesel cars, blocked fracking and imposed different windfall taxes on the North Sea. It is trading baseload energy plants for peaking ones, at two to three times the generation cost. It aims to make gas less attractive with carbon capture and storage mandates underwritten by subsidies. In the end, either bills or taxes will go up. Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/net-zero-fanaticism-is…/
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