Labour plans to fix UK’s green energy problem by 2030
Labour is facing growing questions from within the nuclear and renewable energy industry over its ability to deliver on a key pledge to remove high-carbon energy sources from the national grid by 2030.
Industry sources told i that the energy sector is diverting lobbying resources away from the Conservatives, anticipating a heavy election defeat for Rishi Sunak.
But difficulties finding an audience with Shadow Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, a perceived lack of experience within Labour’s energy team and questions over how such an ambitious timeline can be funded are all raising concerns, i has been told.
Any further delays to major energy projects could lead to bills staying higher for longer, if the UK struggled to secure its energy security during the carbon transition.
While the scale of Labour’s ambition have been commended, concerns remain about the ability of the small teams working for Labour in opposition to adequately prepare to transform the UK’s energy makeup within the party’s first term in office.
The party has pledged for all electricity generation to come from low-carbon sources by 2030, which has been plunged into doubt following fresh delays to the nuclear energy development at Hinkley Point.
Energy firm EDF announced last week that the site could be subject to further delays and more costs due to Brexit and inflation.
Labour have maintained the 2030 target is still achievable, but analysts have raised concerns about how realistic the targets are following recent delays under the Conservative Government.
Josh Buckland, partner at Flint Global, a consultancy, told i that the recent Hinkley Point delays made an already stern task even harder.
Mr Buckland said: “”For Labour, the latest delay to Hinkley Point C makes an already incredibly stretching 2030 target to clean up the power sector even more stretching, to the point it may soon snap. The gap the delay leaves will have to be made up from alternative sources, putting more pressure on the urgent delivery of new offshore wind power in particular. It will also put an incoming Labour government under pressure to keep existing generation sources on the system, potentially leading to some difficult political decisions over future investment in gas-fired generation to fill the gap.”
That said, the 2030 goal shows that Labour is committed to accelerating the electrification of the economy, something that should eventually lower costs for households and businesses. To make that possible, it is rightly talking about the need to increase investment in the grid, as well as reform planning laws to deliver infrastructure more quickly”
i can reveal that multiple energy executives have raised concerns about the ability of Labour’s Shadow Energy Security and Net Zero team, led by former Labour leader Mr Miliband and junior ministers including Alan Whitehead, Jeff Smith, Kerry McCarthy and Sarah Jones as well as key advisors to push through a series of very ambitious policies.
One Chief Executive of a major energy firm told i that the key advisors were not yet experienced enough to enter Government, and raised concerns about the lack of staff in certain shadow ministries.
They had thought the Labour team had not spent enough time thinking about how to reform the energy market to think about how to prevent such an energy crisis again, and the youth of many of the top advisors around Cabinet ministers at the time.
Meanwhile, a nuclear industry source said that while Shadow Net Zero secretary Ed Miliband was liked by the sector, executives were concerned about a lack of facetime between Miliband and industry leaders, given scale of Labour’s aim on clean energy.
They said: “Labour are vocally pro-nuclear, which is great and a number of their key pledges rely on it. However, no one has access to Ed Miliband and he’s hard to get to. With Labour’s junior minister for nuclear standing down, that creates the chance of a vacuum”.
One industry source told i that big question marks remain as to whether Labour will be willing to provide the government funding to get Fast Modular Reactors delivered, which the Government’s nuclear strategy has promised.
“The big question is how much are they going to be constrained by the fiscal parameters they inherit.
“These big projects are going to need that cornerstone government investment. You cannot deliver these on 100 per cent private finance. But will Labour be willing to dig into its pocket for that?”
Labour has repeatedly pledged to remain fiscally cautious, with pledges to reduce the national debt being harder to achieve than any time since the 1950s.
One party grandee told i that Labour would need to either reverse Conservative tax cuts or slash public services if the party were to follow Tory spending plans.
This characterisation has been disputed by a source close to Miliband, who championed his record in Government
The source said: The facts are, when it comes to actually moving nuclear power forward you just need to look at deeds, not words. I don’t think there’s been an Energy Secretary since the early 1990s who was better for the nuclear nuclear industry than Ed was.
“When he was Energy Secretary between 2008 and 2010, he granted permission to the 10 new sites. So in action, not in word it is difficult to think of an energy secretary who has been better for the nuclear industry than Ed when he was in government.”
i understands that multiple nuclear firms have decided to focus all of their public affairs teams on the Labour party, with the Conservatives losing power seeming like a foregone conclusion, and fears of a lack of Labour details on energy policy driving the decision.
One director told i that they had changed focus after the autumn statement, as the polls stayed wide.
“After the autumn statement, it became unwise to keep focusing on talking to the Government as the lead in times for all major projects are so long, by the time there is any progress Labour would be in power”.
“While Labour has talked a lot about private funding for major projects, there’s been less specifics about what can be done on the Government side to aide the process. It would be great to hear more about that in the months coming”.
