Labour’s plan for a net zero grid by 2030 is unrealistic and will require a “huge sacrifice” by the country, a leading power station builder has warned.
Javier Cavada, European boss of Mitsubishi Power, said the rollout of green energy schemes planned by Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband, the shadow energy secretary, would have to move at an unprecedented speed to stand a chance of success.
He also warned it would be prohibitively expensive and questioned whether completely eliminating emissions from gas-fired power plants, which generated one third of Britain’s electricity last year, was a sensible immediate priority.
Asked whether the 2030 target was feasible, Mr Cavada said: “In my years at Mitsubishi and, frankly, my 48 years on the planet, this would be a speed that I have never seen anywhere else.
“Can you do it? You definitely can. But financially? Well, the cost is very large.
“Can the whole country invest into fully decarbonising and can all the industries invest in that? Is everyone so wealthy and so happy to increase the cost of everything?
“You need to create a path that is realistic, that is affordable and is achievable.”
Higher spending on the energy system raises the prospect of households and businesses shouldering increased costs through taxes or bills.
Mr Cavada is the latest energy industry figure to express scepticism about Labour’s plans, which the Conservatives have claimed would risk blackouts. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the petrochemicals billionaire, said on Thursday that Labour’s net zero grid target was “absurd”.
Labour has insisted its plans are deliverable and will ultimately bring energy bills down.
The Labour manifesto pledges to retain a strategic reserve of gas power stations “to guarantee security of supply” and says it will partly fund green investments by expanding the windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
Electricity demand is expected to rise from around 300 terawatt hours per year today to about 360 terawatt hours by 2030.
The bulk of Britain’s future supplies are forecast to come from weather-dependent renewables such as wind and solar farms, backed up by batteries and nuclear power, but gas-fired power stations will still be needed at certain times to keep the lights on.
However, instead of seeking to eliminate their emissions completely by 2030, Mr Cavada urged future governments to proceed more gradually by blending hydrogen into their fuel.
Mitsubishi Power believes existing gas turbines could burn gas that is 30pc hydrogen with only minor modifications.
Mr Cavada admitted that supplies of hydrogen were currently small and highly expensive as well, but argued that – as with wind and solar power – costs would fall as production was scaled up.
That view is not shared by all experts. Many argue that the energy-intensive process of making “green” hydrogen via electrolysis – where water is separated into hydrogen and oxygen – makes it unsuitable for large-scale use in power plants or for heating.
However, Mitsubishi Power, which manufactures gas turbines, is working on technology to make power plants hydrogen-compatible.
The company is also a key player in so-called carbon capture and is developing chemical plants that can absorb emissions from power stations and factories, so they can be sequestered later underground.
Both hydrogen and carbon capture, also known as abatement, are expected to play a role in Labour’s plans to decarbonise Britain’s energy system, although the party has not set out detailed proposals.
But Mr Cavada warned carbon capture was an expensive solution and said it should only be used at sites that were most difficult to turn green, for example cement factories.
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2024-06-22 17:00:00Z
CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDI0LzA2LzIyL2xhYm91cnMtbmV0LXplcm8tZ3JpZC1yZXF1aXJlLWh1Z2Utc2FjcmlmaWNlLWluZHVzdHJ5LWNoaWVmL9IBAA
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