DECC publishes gas strategy

The UK Government has re-affirmed the role of gas in supporting the decarbonisation of the electricity generation sector by 2030 in its new gas generation strategy.  The strategy, which mainly covers Great Britain, acknowledges that gas generation is equally important in Northern Ireland.

Gas fuelled 40 per cent of UK electricity generation and 56 per cent of all-Ireland generation in 2011.  “Gas will provide a cleaner source of energy than coal, and will ensure we can keep the lights on as increasing amounts of wind and nuclear come online through the 2020s,” Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said.

The Government will have the power to introduce a capacity market for electricity in Great Britain with auctions from 2014 to deliver capacity in the winter of 2018-2019, if needed.

Britain may need up to 26GW of new gas capacity by 2030, although this would equate to a net increase of 5GW as most new capacity will offset coal, nuclear and older gas plant.  Planning decisions on four potential carbon capture and storage sites will follow in early 2013.

DECC will set up an Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil to provide a single point of contact for shale gas investors in Britain.  Shale gas production “might commence in the second part of this decade” but growth is likely to be slower than that in the USA.

Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary Caroline Flint agreed that gas has a role in the UK’s future energy mix but warned that a “dash for gas” could hit targets for reducing CO2 emissions, undermine ‘clean energy’ and leave households facing price shocks.