UK needs new gas-fired power stations

• a month ago (2024-03-12)
• David Flin

Europe 1061 Gas 371

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The UK Government has committed to building new gas-fired power stations to avert what Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho described as the “genuine prospect of blackouts.”

She will outline the need for gas power in the electricity system beyond 2030. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK needed to meet its goals to cut emissions by nearly four-fifths by 2035, on the way to the net zero 2050 goal “in a sustainable way that doesn’t leave people without energy on a cloudy, windless day.”

The plans to boost gas power capacity include broadening existing rules for new plants to be built to be net zero ready and able to convert to lower-carbon alternatives such as using hydrogen to create power or using carbon capture technology. The Government also said new gas-fired power plants would run less frequently as other low-carbon technologies such as renewables and nuclear are rolled out.