Nuclear, oil and wind: how the UK plans to deal with the energy crisis

By unveiling its new Energy Security Strategy on Wednesday, the government outlined plans by 2030 produce 95% of the UK’s electricity from low-carbon sources.

“[The plan] will be central to weaning the UK off expensive fossil fuels that depend on volatile gas prices set by international markets over which we have no control,” the government said in a statement.

Under the new strategy, the government will speed up the construction of offshore wind farms by reforming planning laws and hope that by 2030 they will be able to generate enough electricity to power every home in the country.

The government also intends to build eight nuclear reactors over the next decade. The company hopes that by 2050, nuclear energy will be able to provide a quarter of the UK’s electricity.

EDF France, which operates six nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom and is the lead investor in a new nuclear power plant due to come online in 2026, welcomed the announcement.

“The construction of new nuclear plants will reduce the UK’s dependence on foreign gas and keep energy prices stable,” said Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF Energy UK.

But fossil fuels are getting new life. Government plans include a licensing round later this year for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea based on “the importance of these fuels to [energy] transition and to [the UK’s] energy security,” the government said in a statement.
Soaring gas and electricity prices have put millions of people in the face of worst cost of living crisis at 30 years old. The country’s energy regulator, Ofgem, raised the price ceiling — maximum providers can charge customers per unit of energy — by a whopping 54% in early April, pushing electricity bills for about 22 million households to around £2,000 ($2,616) a year.

The limit is likely to be even higher in October, which will create even more problems for consumers.

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