It is not often that energy policy gets a round of applause. Let's be honest, it is a pretty arcane subject sometimes. Discussions about the energy mix, transmission arrangements and internal rates of return for wind energy are not the usual subjects for debate on the floor of a political conference.
But this morning, Tory delegates actually clapped away when Peter Ainsworth - the shadow environment minister - talked about "feed in tariffs". A feed in tariff means people who generate small-scale (and potentially large-scale) renewable energy get a decent price for electricity they sell to the grid. It is an essential policy if we are to decentralise the UK energy market and cut our CO2 emissions. It also means that the Tory Party has accepted the much of the energy section of the Quality of Life Policy Group.
This is good news. Now both Tories and Lib Dems support Greenpeace's campaign for a better, more efficient energy future. That should increase pressure on the Government as they introduce their energy bill (assuming there is no General Election).
No one here knows if the election will be called. One senior Cameron press aide said Brown had booked a press conference for next Tuesday. Another told me he was sure they had done enough to avoid an autumn poll. I also bumped into another environmental lobbyist who is very close to the Government and she was convinced a poll was on. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that Brown WILL call an election very shortly. If he does, we must fight hard to make the environment an issue that voters care about.
So this is it. The last blog of my conference experience. Three weeks, three seaside resorts and three political parties. All three have some things that are identical: the food, the subjects being discussed, the corporate exhibition stands. It would be an anthropologist's dream to observe the delegates. Tory delegates and Labour delegates have more in common than either would want to admit, I suspect!
I am sitting next to a plasma screen that is running adverts from E.On energy, saying they are investing in "Clean Coal". What they mean is they want to build a dirty coal fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent. This plant would belt out so much CO2 that there is virtually no chance we can ever meet our climate change targets. There is still a lot of work to do!
