Tory energy cancellations risk power for 20 million homes – Rebecca Long-Bailey. New figures obtained by Labour show that energy infrastructure projects cancelled or blocked under the Tories would have generated enough energy each year to power more than 20 million homes – three quarters of British households. The last six months has seen the cancellation of three major nuclear power plants which would have powered 17 million homes each year: Moorside in Cumbria, scrapped in November 2018; Wylfa Newydd in Anglesey, scrapped in January this year; Oldbury in Gloucester, scrapped at the same time as Wylfa. In June 2018 the Government axed plans for the world’s first tidal lagoon power plant in Swansea Bay – enough to power nearly 150,000 homes each year. The Government’s ban on onshore wind, introduced in 2015, is blocking nearly 800 shovel-ready onshore wind projects – enough to power more than three million homes each year. Most of Britain’s remaining nuclear power stations are set to be closed in the 2020s with a severe energy gap looming if the Government does not secure further investment in energy infrastructure. The government’s recent sector deal set out an ambition for offshore wind to deliver “up to” 30 gigawatts of energy by 2030, but failed to establish concrete targets or bring forward substantial new investment. Labour would approve the Swansea Tidal Lagoon, remove barriers to onshore wind, and support new nuclear as part of a sustainable and secure energy mix. Labour has also committed to creating 400,000 new jobs through a ‘green industrial revolution.’
Labour Party 17th March 2019 read more »