London (Parliament Politics Magzine) – PM Keir Starmer has promised to take on Labour MPs and councils that attempt to block pylon networks delivering a designed new generation of clean electricity, as he pledged the government’s projects would lower people’s bills in this parliament.
Why is PM Starmer promising to tackle pylon network opposition?
Formally embarking on GB Energy, the state-run green energy generation firm, one of his flagship procedures, the PM said there was a necessity to move rapidly on new onshore and offshore wind because of what he called the previous government’s inaction and short-termism.
Talking at a wind turbine factory on the edge of Widnes, Cheshire, PM Starmer set out the procedure to build sufficiently offshore wind turbines over the next five years to power 20m houses, part of a tie-up with the crown estate.
Why are overground power lines preferred over underground or undersea cables?
Answering media queries after his speech, watched by Juergen Maier, the ex-Siemens UK boss who has been reported as the chair of GB Energy, Starmer was questioned if he could guarantee ministers would push for power to be allocated using overground lines, rather than underground or undersea cables, which are much more costly and take considerably longer to build.
There are already scheduling battles against overground lines in areas including East Anglia and Lincolnshire, with some Labour nominees at the general election stating they opposed pylon schemes.
“We will take the tough decisions to make this work,” Starmer responded. “Because it’s the failure to take the tough judgments, the running away from tough decisions, that has caused over a decade of lost possibility. That will include decisions on planning, where we plan to make the necessary modifications. And that will apply everywhere, whatever the rosette on the constituency because we have to move this forward.”
How does Starmer intend to address planning delays for energy projects?
Without radical action, Starmer expressed, planning delays for both wind farms and electricity networks would mean it “takes 30 years before we get the power”. He said: “We’re not going to go on like that.”
While GB Energy will eventually invest in a range of cutting-edge technologies such as carbon capture, tidal power and small nuclear reactors, its initial emphasis will be on offshore wind.
How will GB Energy stimulate private investment in renewable energy?
“The money that’s moving into GB Energy is intended to be a stimulus for private investment,” he stated. “It will give great confidence to investors about the decision we have to make decisions. This is a historic collaboration. This has never been done before. It’s a real game-changer.”
Starmer stated the scheme would bring down people’s energy bills, although he was initially cautious on when this would occur, saying he would “certainly want to get those bills down in this parliament”.