Energy suppliers call for more hydrogen to replace natural gas

ENERGY suppliers have called for increased investment in hydrogen as a clean alternative to natural gas to be part of the new programme for government amidst a deepening cost-of-living crisis caused by high gas prices.

Energy UK, the industry trade association, said the upcoming Queen’s Speech should be used to make the biggest changes to the UK’S energy laws for a decade and set the foundations for the next decade to deliver a low carbon power system by 2035 and a green economy by 2050.

It comes as the Prime Minister urged the bosses of BP and Shell to keep investing in wind farms and hydrogen to drive down bills.

The UK Government believes a world-leading hydrogen economy would support more than 9,000 UK jobs and unlock £4 billion investment by 2030.

Earlier this week, it emerged Grangemouth Refinery owner Ineos was behind a new £30 million project launched in Scotland to find out if hydrogen can be a clean alternative to natural gas, for homes and businesses.

It is working with the business that runs Scotland’s gas networks, SGN to try to bring hydrogen distribution networks a step closer to reality in the UK.

Hydrogen is being championed as the fuel of the future and experts believe it can help tackle the biggest root cause of climate change – air pollution.

The Energy Networks Association, the industry body representing energy network operators in the UK, says that hydrogen could heat homes around the country from next year, with all five of Britain’s gas grid companies preparing to provide the gas.

The Herald revealed that thousands faced soaring mortgage payments after interest rates were hiked to the highest level for 13 years on Thursday, further fuelling a cost-of-living crisis that analysis has revealed will leave the average Scots family more than £2,100 a year worse off.

Energy UK says that the Queen’s Speech should be the platform for a new Energy Bill in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the knock-on impact it has had in global increases in energy prices.

It says that it would be used to enable innovation in net zero technologies by delivering new business models hydrogen production and storage, as well as carbon capture.

It wants reforms that will support the delivery of the Government’s targets for 50 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2050 and increased use of solar and battery storage.

It suggests setting a requirement for off-gas grid properties to move to low-carbon heating technology at the end of the life of their existing heating source, addressing what it called “the most polluting properties” and stimulating the market for low carbon heat.

And it wants the energy regulator Ofgem to introduce “fit and proper persons” reforms to ensure new energy suppliers are run properly.

“The energy sector has undergone a huge transformation in the decade since the last Energy Bill and has the potential to go much further and faster towards a clean, modern and flexible system – with tangible benefits for customers, our economy and our environment,” Dhara Vyas, Energy UK’S director of advocacy, said. “With record energy bills at present resulting from unprecedented international gas prices, we must seize this opportunity to expand our own sources of domestic clean energy, along with encouraging the widespread adoption of low-carbon technologies.”

It wants established targets to become legally binding, and would include the phase out of coal by 2024, to send a “further signal” towards the UK’S low-carbon energy future.

“This country now has a raft of ambitious targets in place and the focus must now be on delivering these,” added Mr Vyas.

“We can only do this with a Bill that enables our sector to do what we need to do now and deliver on the full potential of the future energy system.”