Fishburn Hedges

11.08.2010

It's crunch time on UK energy policy.

Well actually that was a few years back, but we've had an election and a new government in between, so now it's really decision time, or so said the CBI this week in a new report, 'No time to lose: Deciding Britain's Energy Future'.

On the Today programme earlier this week, Neil Bentley who leads the CBI's climate change programme said that one in three of our electricity generating plants will go offline by 2020, and as yet, there's no clear roadmap of how we'll fill that energy gap.

Ten years to keep the lights on then?

Renewables yes, nuclear yes, cue much squirming from 'I've never said I'm anti-nuclear' former CND member, Chris Huhne.

Some pretty effective lobbying in action from the CBI, prompting Mr Huhne to go further than he's gone to date in calling when the first new nuclear capacity will come into play, as reported widely in the press.

But there's still a lot of uncertainty in other areas. The CBI are calling for more active 'project management' by the government of the transition to low carbon in the UK. There's a definite feeling that energy policy may be losing out to other economic priorities.

Lobby groups like the CBI as well as companies in the 'green growth' sector need to work hard to keep energy on the agenda, press for decisions and push for longer-term policies that can help business plan for the future. Otherwise we may all be reaching for our wind up torches.