Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 12/22/2008 12:12:50 AM PST by bruinbirdman
Britain will not ban the construction of coal-fired power stations while new technology is being developed to cut their carbon emissions, Ed Miliband, the UK energy secretary, has said.
Mr Miliband will decide next year on Eon’s application to build a coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth, Kent.
The contentious application, fiercely opposed by environmental groups and the main opposition parties, is seen as a bellwether for a new generation of coal plants. Several other energy companies have plans for new coal plants in the pipeline.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the energy secretary stated: “I will not take a position which ignores our security of supply needs.”
He attacked the opposition Tories’ “knee jerk” and “not thought through” call for a ban on construction of new stations until technology to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions – as yet unproven on a commercial scale – is installed.
Mr Miliband stressed that he could not pre-empt the decision on Kingsnorth, which will follow a statement next month of government policy on carbon-capture technology.
He signalled that much tougher environmental controls would be imposed on existing coal plants, saying: “There will come a point when we say it’s right to retro-fit carbon capture and storage.”
He also stressed the need to drive the technology into new plants “as quickly as we can”.
Mr Miliband told the FT that part of the rationale for creating his new department of energy and climate change was “a recognition that in 20 years’ time we’re not going to be building unabated coal-fired power stations”.
This two-decade deadline will alarm environmentalists.
The government’s own climate-change committee called on the government to declare that no new unabated coal-fired power stations could be built from 2020.
what? save the environment! let workers freeze to to a chilly, solid texture! /s
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