The government must set a clear "twilight" on gas-fired power generation in its forthcoming energy bill, or face a dearth of much-needed investment into the power sector, according to a top Tory MP. Tim Yeo, the chairman of the influential energy and climate change select committee, said the bill should provide "confidence, certainty and long-term stability", and that this could only be done through setting a clear target for "decarbonising" the electricity sector. Without such a framework, he warned, the required investment in the energy sector – estimated at more than £200bn in the next ten years – would be doubtful. Providing a clear end to the use of "unabated" gas – that is, gas-fired electricity generation operating without the technology to capture and store the resulting carbon emissions – would ensure a clear limit on how long gas-fired power stations would continue to spew out carbon dioxide at their current rate, Yeo said. This issue is key to whether gas-fired power generation can have a long-term future in the UK, because energy utilities are being encouraged by the government to build new gas-fired power stations today, without a long-term view as to their future.
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