New energy generation should be this Government’s top priority
SIR – Why is the Government insisting that it cannot use our money to build new nuclear power stations – which we need – and that all finance is “private”, yet happy to spend increasing amounts on HS2 – which we don’t?
Andy Tuke
Pensford, Somerset
SIR – While the immediate cause of the energy crisis is a sharp increase in gas prices, the severity is the result of the British Government’s energy policy.
The premature closing of all coalfired power stations, the dash for gas, increasing reliance on unreliable wind power and dithering on nuclear power have created our current problems.
Ultimately, the Government has prioritised “climate leadership” over reliable and affordable energy, and we are paying the price. While Boris Johnson grandstands at Cop26 next month, ordinary people will be struggling to pay their fuel bills and industry will be grinding to a halt. Andrew Brown
Allestree, Derbyshire
SIR – Past policy mistakes have left us relying too much on imported natural gas, thus leaving us vulnerable to Russian opportunism and increased Asian demand. However, pressure from Vladimir Putin has been effective only because the global energy market was already so tight, due to an increased demand for gas to fuel power stations as countries reduced their reliance on other fossil fuels such as coal.
We are particularly vulnerable because our leaders believed there was no need for nuclear power, fracking or storage facilities as we could always access gas from Europe and liquefied natural gas from the US.
Dr John Cameron
St Andrews, Fife
SIR – Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary is correct: the Russians are using oil as a weapon. The Government should therefore allow oil companies to drill for shale gas without delay. Patrick Evershed
London SW1
SIR – The Prime Minister seems to have forgotten that ordinary people will need a reliable and affordable supply of energy if they are to keep warm this winter.
It is time we had a strategic plan for energy generation that is not based on imports or intermittent technologies dependent on weather conditions.
Les Bratt
Cleeve Prior, Worcestershire
SIR – British governments have for decades failed to harness the immense untapped tidal flow of the Bristol Channel. It would be a safe source of power, create no pollution and would be guaranteed every day of the year. It would also be a triumphantly green initiative for Boris Johnson to announce at Cop26.
While it would not be an easy project to bring to fruition, it would remind the world of Britain’s entrepreneurial acumen and engineering skill.
Mark Willcock
Hoy, Orkney