Peter Aldous spoke in a debate on the future of the oil and gas industry highlighting three areas where the industry and Government need to work together to maximise the sector's full potential, that is in strengthening the supply chain, building up expertise in decommissioning and promoting transition to a low-carbon economy.
The Waveney constituency and across East Anglia much is being achieved through harnessing natural resources. Parts of one of the largest clusters of offshore wind farms in the world are either in operation, being built, or being planned. 4GW of power is already operational off the East Anglian coast, accounting for over 50% of the UK’s installed capacity.
This success is being mirrored in energy hot spots around the UK and, with potential developments in the pipeline, we will be able to provide much of the Government’s newly revised higher target of 40GW by 2030 and subsequently 75GW by 2050.
The Government must work collaboratively with local communities and industry when developing the regulatory framework to ensure that industry is not disadvantaged.
There are a number of opportunities for the oil & gas sector as the UK transforms to net zero carbon emissions. The sector has an ongoing role in providing energy security and it clearly reduces carbon footprint to use UK oil and gas rather than imports. The industry can act as a bridge to a low-carbon future, promoting the use of gas, hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage. There are transferable skills to the offshore renewables sector and, finally, the large amount of work in the decommissioning of oil and gas assets in the North Sea.
Nuclear energy also has an important part to play in providing long-term low-carbon energy security and it is important we press ahead with projects such as Sizewell C in Suffolk.
Finally, with the UK having 50% of Europe’s tidal energy and 35% of its wave energy, the UK is in pole position to be the world leader in this sector, which could contribute to the UK’s future energy mix, further improving self-sufficiency. We should support these emerging technologies to bring down their costs, and consider funding arrangements to support them in their early stages, as we did with solar and wind.
Peter Aldous is working with Power for People and sponsoring the Local Electricity Bill to deliver more clean, local energy that benefits local communities.