Huhne unveils £110bn electricity investment
Energy minister Chris Huhne has unveiled government plans to invest £110 billion in electricity provision in the UK.
The proposals would replace a quarter of the country's power stations by 2030 and insulate the UK from fluctuations in oil prices by increasing the number of nuclear and renewable energy sources.
A key recommendation of the white paper is the introduction of long-term price contracts with nuclear power plants and offshore windfarms, in a bid to make electricity prices more stable.
This comes just days after British Gas announced its domestic electricity prices will increase by an average of 16 per cent, while gas will go up by 18 per cent.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change also aims to raise the share of renewable energy sources to 30 per cent of electricity generation by 2030, from the current level of seven per cent.
"Without investment in renewables, new nuclear and carbon capture and storage, emissions will remain too high, we will become dependent on energy imports, and increasingly vulnerable to fossil fuel price volatility," Mr Huhne said. "Put simply, the current market is not fit to deliver this."
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