Energy has been in the news again this week.
The reason is pretty obvious: the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran that has sent the price of oil skyward is both sending shockwaves through markets and consumers, and prompting some nations to further underline the case for more sustainable energy sources and reduced reliance on fossil fuels.
In a Government press release earlier this week, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband - so often the target of political crossfire over green policies - announced the intention to go “further and faster” on energy security with a series of measures across solar and renewable infrastructure investments.
It did feel like an opportunity to strike while the iron was hot, with voters’ pockets being hit by rising vehicle and heating fuel costs, and particularly with the media full of stories about the soaring cost of heating oil.
The urgency, and the clarity, behind Miliband’s announcement was roundly welcomed across industries, with the housing and property world both supportive but also needing the public and private sectors to do more to ensure that the right skills are in place to support the energy transition.
It was not the only energy news from the Government this week, with a separate pledge to provide an energy saving tool to beleaguered pubs, hotels and restaurants.
Media reaction to the clear energy fanfare was mixed, and not just along political leanings. The Financial Times wrote that the UK was still struggling to achieve its clean energy aims, outlining weakness in electricity transmission infrastructure as the main weak spot.
And Reform UK, predictably, got in on the act by promising to scrap VAT and “green levies” on energy bills. The announcement was coupled with a promotional prize draw, with the party promising to pay the energy bills of the winner and their entire street - a move that it insisted did not breach electoral law.
Over the longer term, the country’s potential to develop fusion energy was also in the spotlight this week.
“The current conflict in the Middle East shows the only route to energy sovereignty for the UK is to end its dependence on fossil fuel markets and accelerate the transition to clean homegrown power, with fusion holding the potential to revolutionise the energy system and ensure lasting energy abundance and security,” said the Government press release on the topic.
As the conflict continues, the virtues and costs of increasing renewable energy capacity and reducing oil reliance will likely do the same. But with The Times having also highlighted that UK consumers pay more for their electricity than almost any other developed nation and more commentary about the prospect of more North Sea drilling, don’t expect the sustainable energy narrative to be political plain-sailing.
