Oliver Colvile MP: The current campaign against wind farms could damage the future for marine renewables

Oliver Colvile is MP for Plymouth Devonport. Follow Oliver on Twitter.

Over the next decade the UK faces three specific energy challenges:

• Securing a stable energy supply;
• Making sure we play our part in cutting C02 emissions in the fight against global warming; and
• Developing new business for growth in our economy.

According to OFGEM, Britain will face a potential energy shortage by the winter of 2015/2016.  This could lead to a significant rise in the cost of energy bills.  According to a recent report by the energy regulator, the amount of spare UK’s energy capacity is likely to fall from 14% to 4%.

Britain could become increasingly reliant on foreign energy supplies or see the lights being turned off just as we prepare for the next General Election.

Oliver Colvile MP: The critics of windfarms are wrong. Renewable energy provides good value for money.

Oliver Colvile is Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport. Follow Oliver on Twitter.

Last month, the much respected economist and journalist Ruth Lea wrote an article for ConservativeHome on the Government’s proposals to use renewable energy to meet the potential energy crisis facing the UK.

Soon after this, 100 Conservative colleagues signed a letter opposing the building of wind farms in our countryside.

In claiming that the Government is wrong to pursue such a strategy, I believe that Ruth Lea is failing to recognise that today almost 25% of the UK’s generation (20GW) comes from ageing coal and atomic power stations which will be retired over the next eight years.

By 2025 this challenge will increase by 30%.  Whilst we need new power stations to fill the gap, the first nuclear plant will not be expected to be operating until 2019 at the earliest.  Sadly we don’t have enough time to build additional power stations and even if we did such acceleration will ramp up the costs; nor do we have enough skilled technicians.