Britain to build new gas-fired power plants to ‘keep lights on’ in net-zero age

Britain will build new gasfired power stations to ensure it “keeps the lights on” as it moves towards net zero, the government has said.

Claire Coutinho, the UK’s Energy Security Secretary, warned of a “genuine prospect of blackouts” if the country cannot turn to gas when the weather shuts down wind and solar power.

She established election battle lines by attacking the opposition Labour Party’s plans to phase out North Sea oil and gas production.

Rules are being drafted that would mean new plants must be “net-zero ready”, meaning they could one day be retrofitted to use hydrogen or capture the carbon dioxide they emit by burning gas.

Critics warn Britain is heading backwards in the race for net zero and that using gas leaves it vulnerable to global markets. However, Ms Coutinho said backing investment in new gas-fired plants was not at odds with Britain’s international commitments to go green.

She pitched her policy as putting “national interest over narrow ideology” in a speech to the Chatham House think tank in London.

“Anybody who tells you that you can just stop oil and gas is not just wrong, but naive,” she said on Tuesday.

“If countries are forced to choose between net zero and keeping citizens safe and warm, believe me: They’ll choose to keep the lights on. We will not let ourselves be put in that position. And so, as we continue to move towards clean energy, we must also be realistic.”

Alan Whitehead, Labour’s shadow energy minister, said Ms Coutinho’s announcement raised “considerable question marks”. Labour could accept a minimal future use of gas as a “backup necessity” and if power plants are equipped to capture carbon, he said.

But he added that the government’s talk of realism raises a “substantial red flag” that the term is being used to abandon “commitments that are absolutely necessary”.

The government last year pushed back deadlines for clean heating and electric cars after seizing on a backlash against low-emission traffic rules in London.

Ms Coutinho on Tuesday said Labour’s plans for the North Sea would increase the risk of power cuts and “leave a generation of oil and gas workers stranded”.

The UK was among about 200 countries to commit at last year’s Cop28 summit in the UAE to “transitioning away” from fossil fuels. The deal also outlines a role for “transitional fuels”, widely taken as a reference to gas.

Officials argue that future supply cannot be forecast exactly and some of Britain’s 32 gas-fired plants are heading for retirement, meaning new stations are needed.