Source: BBC Radio 4: Today Programme
URL: N/A
Date: 04/12/2012
Event: Report commissioned by Greenpeace and WWF says wind energy will be cheaper than gas
Attribution: BBC Radio 4
People:
John Humphrys: It's ten to nine, and we've got the answer, actually, don't we, Simon. You do - it's not a dash for gas, it's a dash for wind.
Simon Jack: Well yeah, hold your horses, say [sic] a new report, before we go down that gas route. Because a report from Cambridge Econometrics says that wind energy will create more jobs and be a bigger boost to GDP by 2025 than going down the gas route. The Chairman of Cambridge Econometrics is Dr. Terry Barker. Good morning.
Terry Barker: Good morning.
Simon Jack: Now, the problem is, is that George Osborne would like to have a greener economy but doesn't want to put the UK at a disadvantage. And the point is, is that wind energy is more expensive.
Terry Barker: Well, it looks more expensive now, but if the UK becomes - or the North Sea becomes - a major offshore wind supplier to the world, then it may well become much cheaper.
Simon Jack: You said it will provide more jobs and raise GDP - that's just because these things are harder to build, isn't it?
Terry Barker: Not exactly, it's because they involve more investment than the gas stations.
Simon Jack: But we know, from last week, that that extra investment is adding some £70 to consumer bills by 2020, who are already hard-pressed. So it doesn't - this is not a free lunch, is it.
Terry Barker: No, it's not a free lunch, of course it's not. We have to look at investment in two ways - one, of course it does add to the costs but on the other side, it also adds to jobs and GDP. And the North Sea investment could add a lot of jobs and a reasonable amount of GDP, and that would help to offset the very small increases in the energy bills.
Simon Jack: Now we should make it clear that this report was commissioned by Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, so - you would say that, wouldn't you.
Terry Barker [laughing uneasily]: Well, yes it is commissioned by them, but Cambridge Econometrics is completely independent, and so we don't do things - we do things, of course, they're commissioned, we do things, we have to make a profit to stay in existence, um...
Simon Jack: Okay. Let me just ask you this. Just this morning, EDF announced that it's extending the life of two of its nuclear power plants by another seven years. Where does nuclear fit in to the future?
Terry Barker: Nuclear is a possible - is a possible - does contribute already to lowering the greenhouse gas emissions from the UK. And, because of the risks of nuclear, we may well not want to go down that route. But nevertheless, it does have a potential contribution to reducing the CO2 emissions from the UK.
Simon Jack: Okay. Dr. Terry Barker from Cambridge Econometrics, thank you.