Comment on Budget
Catherine Mitchell, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Exeter, comments on the Budget
By George Smeeton
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Commenting on todays Budget, Catherine Mitchell, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Exeter, said: "The Government says that it wants a sustainable, secure and affordable energy system, but recent rhetoric and policy changes are taking us further away from that goal.
“The ending of subsidies for onshore wind farms, our cheapest low-carbon electricity resource, the failure to exploit the potential of energy efficiency, the removal of the Climate Change Levy exemption for renewable energy, and support for unpopular fracking and extortionately expensive nuclear power does not add up to a credible energy policy. It reduces the chances of us meeting our various legal requirements, and presents serious political risk to investors, which in itself makes energy more expensive.
Professor Mitchell said that Increased renewable energy use and energy efficiency improvements in other countries has been good for citizens, with falling wholesale electricity prices, increased jobs and improvement to the wider economies.
She said: “The UK is increasingly out of step with the global energy transformation that is taking place partly in response to climate change and air pollution, but also to smart technology that allows people to generate energy more cheaply than utilities can. It puts in jeopardy Britain’s ability to derive social, economic, security and environmental benefits from the transformation.
"Based on recent policy announcements, we in Britain are going to be left entirely behind unless we start to embrace change and move with the prevailing tide.”