April 2008
From Energy-Experts
Claverton Press Release: Draft 15th April 2008
UK Energy Policy: Five Decades of Panic
A central conclusion of the recent Claverton Group Conference, held in Bath, England – hosted at the Headquarters of Wessex Water in April 2008 – was that attempts to maintain a business-as-usual policy, in the UK energy sector, have resulted in five decades of continual crisis management. Each “policy” has quickly become obsolete, in response to “unforeseen energy shortages”.
Of immediate concern, the Group also concluded that energy policy has been deteriorating. The UK Government has switched from a non-nuclear posture, with imported natural gas being the solution, to one in which nuclear is seen as the salvation of our energy supply. At the same time the Government has also backed 33GW of wind farms, (seemingly) oblivious that significant levels of nuclear and wind power are incompatible means of generating electricity unless well considered grid, storage and demand-side solutions are already in place.
In recognition of these issues, the Claverton Group, which consists of a large number of senior independent experts in the renewables, fossil and nuclear fields, is formalising its structure by taking Articles of Association. Claverton will provide well-founded technical advice on how the UK electricity, heating and transport sectors can move to a sustainable basis over the next thirty years.
The Claverton Group has already begun to interact with Government. It has requested Mr Malcolm Wicks, Energy Minister, to provide half-hour data on the electricity output of nuclear, fossil and renewable generating plant. This information, which is freely available in other parts of the EU, will be vital both in judging the future mix of generating plant, and in avoiding the risk of extensive blackouts.
F.Starr Press Officer http://claverton-energy.com/energy-experts-wiki
Claverton Group formed about 5 years ago and has grown to 220 senior energy experts/economists, engineers, scientists, power plant operators.
It has been / is supported by:
Biwater International - a leading infrastructure company
Utilyx - a leading energy and climate change consultancy
Wessex Water - a leading UK water company
Allen and York a leading specialist recruiter in the Energy field.
