Letters

Impoverishing cost of net zero

I COULDN’T agree more with Councillor Alastair Redman when he describes net zero policies as “fantasy targets and international virtue signalling.” (letters, May 5). If we ever got to net zero by 2050 – and it’s a big if – the climate would continue to change as it has done for aeons. But the cost of getting to this purely arbitrary target would impoverish us.

Labour-supporting energy specialist Daragh Coleman is a net zero enthusiast, but uniquely, has worked out the cost of net zero by 2050 using data supplied by Imperial College London ( ranked 12th in global universities).

He found that to remove all carbon-based energy sources by 2050 would cause a 400% increase in peak demand for electricity caused by the switch to battery powered cars, electric heat pumps, battery powered tractors (sic) and so on. Average domestic electricity consumption would increase from 12.8kw/day to 126.8kw/ day. Businesses and industrial enterprises would be hit even harder.

But where is all this electricity coming from, now that successive governments have blown up all our big reliable coalfired power stations and closed all our coal mines, leaving us scrabbling about to find coking coal abroad to prevent our last prime steel works closing?

Hartlepool and Heysham 1 nuclear power stations will close in 2027, Torness and Heysham 2 will close in 2030. These four giant plants have had their service life extended, some would say unwisely, just to keep the lights on today.

Ed Miliband has decreed that nearly all of our 49 gas-fired power plants will close in 2030. He is deluded if he thinks that Chinese-manufactured batteries can power Britain during dunkelflautes.

As Ed Conway, the highly respected Economics Editor of Sky News has said: “the shift from fossil fuel energy to low carbon energy has unequivocally pushed bills up… costs are passed onto domestic customers, which is part of the reason Britain is de-industrialising”.

Professor RG Faulkner of Loughborough University goes further saying: “Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, might reflect on the fact that, in his push towards net zero, he is committing us to a miserable future.” As the only party yet to oppose net zero, it’s no wonder support for Reform is rising. William Loneskie,

Lauder.