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(Bloomberg) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stepped up plans to build new nuclear power stations and offshore wind farms as he seeks to bolster the UK’s energy supply following the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

The prime minister’s energy security strategy, announced on Thursday, targets a tripling of installed nuclear capacity by 2050 and accelerates plans to install offshore wind farms during this decade. The document also includes more ambitious targets on hydrogen, solar power and measures to boost oil and gas projects in the North Sea.

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The strategy aims to eliminate Britain’s dependence on Russian hydrocarbons and push the country towards energy self-sufficiency, by lowering prices in the long term. It comes just days after Britons were hit by a 54% rise in the price cap on energy bills, driven by a spike in wholesale gas prices exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

“It will reduce our dependence on energy sources exposed to volatile international prices that we cannot control, so that we can enjoy greater energy self-sufficiency with cheaper bills,” Johnson said. in a statement issued Wednesday by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

But the document was immediately criticized by climate groups and opposition politicians as failing to drive down energy prices by taking insufficient steps to boost onshore wind, solar and electricity. energetic efficiency.

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The “Won’t Work” Strategy

The strategy “will not reduce bills, deliver energy independence or tackle the climate crisis”, said Ed Miliband, the opposition Labor Party’s main spokesman on climate change, in a press release.

Soaring energy bills in Britain have caused the worst pressure on living standards for at least 60 years, pushing millions of people into poverty. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said policies set out on Thursday will not help bring down bills for three to four years and the UK remains dependent on international gas prices.

Climate change research group E3G said there was too much emphasis on longer-term programs for nuclear power, offshore oil and gas and hydrogen.

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“The focus should have been on quick action to boost energy security at home,” said Juliet Phillips, senior policy adviser at E3G. “By instead emphasizing technologies that won’t be delivered for a long time, the government has both failed to respond to the moment and failed to read the mood of the nation.”

The measures of the strategy include:

An ambition to develop 24 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050, up from around 8 gigawatts in 2020 A goal to obtain up to 95% of electricity from low-carbon sources by 2030 A goal of develop 50 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, up from a previous target of 40 gigawatts, and about 14 gigawatts currently. Target includes up to 5 gigawatts of floating turbines in deeper waters A new licensing round for oil and gas projects in the North Sea in the fall£30m ($39m) to help develop pumps heatA consultation on rules for solar projects, which the government has said could quintuple its capacity by 2035, from 14 gigawatts currently A doubling to 10 gigawatts of the target for hydrogen projects, at least half of which comes from so-called green hydrogen produced from water and renewable energy

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The government said the new measures would support 30,000 more jobs in offshore wind, 3,000 more in hydrogen and about 5,000 more in solar power.

Nuclear Stutter

Nuclear targets, in particular, will imply a significant change in the pace of project development. A planned revival in the industry faltered for more than a decade, with several projects failing to start and operate, and the only one under construction suffering repeated delays. Currently, all but one of the UK’s 11 reactors at five sites are due to close by the end of the decade.

Electricité de France SA is building a new power station at Hinkley Point in the southwest of England, and before Wednesday the government’s plan was to agree to the construction of another large-scale nuclear power station by 2024, probably EDF’s Sizewell C power plant. extending the life of its Sizewell B station by another 20 years to 2055.

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According to Johnson’s new plan, nuclear will provide 25% of the country’s electricity in three decades, up from 16% now. The government “will work to bring forward a range of projects as soon as possible this decade”, including the Wylfa site in Wales, he said, adding that the new plans could deliver up to eight reactors.

In addition, ministers will set up a new government body, called Great British Nuclear, to come up with new projects and create a £120m nuclear enabling fund.

Martin Young, a utilities analyst at Investec Bank Plc, said he was “far from convinced” of the nuclear industry’s ability to deliver on time and on budget. He said the industry had a legacy of cost overruns and delays, while the current funding model means consumer bills start paying for electrons before the station is turned on.

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Conservatives split

Johnson had promised the document would be released “in the coming days” in early March, but it was delayed as his office and the business department argued with the Treasury over additional funding for nuclear power and energy efficiency measures. As it happens, Wednesday’s announcement contained little new funding beyond a few funds for heat pumps and the nuclear fund.

The Prime Minister’s own Conservative party is also split over the onshore wind rollout, described by some as an eyesore, and fracking for gas, which has been on hold since a test well was hit by many. small earthquakes in 2019.

Under the new strategy, authorities will consult on partnerships with “a limited number of supporting communities” on support for onshore wind projects in exchange for reduced energy bills, the statement said.

Speaking to Times Radio, Kwarteng said the onshore wind part of the strategy had been decided for a week. The final wind policy is a “halfway house, a missed opportunity” that will fail to deliver significant new capacity and will discriminate against people living in cities, Young said.

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