Vince Cable: let’s be honest, green energy is expensive
I like Vince’s candour. This article tells us:
Green energy sources such as wind farms and nuclear reactors are expensive and the government should admit it, Vince Cable, the business secretary has said.
The senior Liberal Democrat said there was “no point just berating the energy industry” over rising prices because trying to balance consumer interests and the drive for costly green investment was a “horrendously difficult problem”.
His comments stand in contrast to the usual rhetoric of the energy department, led by fellow Lib Dem Ed Davey, which typically focuses on arguing that going green will be cheaper than the alternatives, and has been critical of recent price rises.
Dr Cable said it was “totally fair” to say that the Government “should just be honest about the fact a lot of the new energy is relatively high cost”.
“The cost of new nuclear is a hell of a lot more than the long-term marginal cost of bringing in new gas and coal [power plants]. Offshore wind is three times the current price of gas[-fired generation],” he told an Edelman event on trust in the energy sector.