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The UK risks blackouts unless it builds new, gas-fired power stations, Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho will warn today.
The new stations will replace existing plants, many of which are aging and will soon be retired.
But the government says the CO2 produced will not be captured – a measure which limits climate change.
That could threaten a legally binding commitment to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, critics say.
The government said new gas power stations were needed to have a safe and reliable back up for days when renewables like wind and solar didn’t deliver. PM Rishi Sunak said he would not “gamble with our energy security”.
The decision is part of a wide-reaching review of how the UK’s energy market works.
But the Green Alliance think tank said it “flies in the face” of the government’s promise to reach zero-carbon electricity by 2035.
The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said falling North Sea output would leave the UK ever more dependent on foreign gas.
Labour accused the Tories of leaving the UK facing another 10 years of high energy bills, but acknowledged retiring gas-fired stations needed to be replaced.
Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The reason the Tories cannot deliver the lower bills and energy security we need is that they are specialists in failure when it comes to our clean energy future: persisting with the ludicrous ban on onshore wind, bungling the offshore wind auctions,
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