Fossil fuels
Although domestic oil and gas resources are dwindling, the UK is increasing its imports in these areas. However, global oil and gas resources are also declining, and as they do so, prices will increase. For fuel security reasons, the UK Government’s vision is to be independent from relying on these fuels in the medium to longer term.
It is a different story for coal, where the UK is looking again at how it can use its reserves. Traditionally, coal power is the most greenhouse gas polluting of all methods of energy generation. New environmental legislation has been passed in the EU and the UK to reduce emissions and air pollutants from coal-fired power stations.
To comply with this legislation, new and existing coal-powered stations will have to employ cleaner technology. Some stations will close as they will be unable to meet the new standards, particularly in 2016, when a cap on air pollutants will be introduced.
For coal to be a viable part of the UK’s future energy mix, technologies will have to be developed that will significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal. This is particularly important with the UK’s commitment in the 2008 Climate Change Act to an 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
It is widely thought that carbon capture and storage technology will be the key to enable ‘clean coal’ to be a part of the global energy mix. Development of this technology is still in its infancy and the first power station in Europe to use such technology will not open until 2015. Until such technologies are mainstream, the UK will be unlikely to be able to fully exploit its coal reserves.
