Early this morning protesters occupied a combined cycle gas turbine power station (CCGT) that is being constructed in West Burton on the borders of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. They are preparing to stay there for as long as they can. The protesters were campaigning against the Governments decision to build 20 new gas power stations instead of investing in clean green energy.
Political lobbyist activists across Nottinghamshire are at this moment writing to and visiting their MP's to ask them to vote for a decarbonisation of the energy generation sector by 2030 in the forthcoming Energy Bill. But the Treasury under the leadership of George Osborne are in favour of more gas fired power generation.
The protesters are part of a group called No Dash For Gas and they say that the dash for gas will result in us being dependant on a highly polluting increasingly expensive fossil fuel that will also leave the UK's carbon reduction targets impossible to reach. Recent increases in fuel bills have been largely due to the increasing price of gas. The UK no longer is self sufficient in gas and in February 2012, 40% of consumed gas was imported. As gas prices rise more and more households will be thrown into fuel poverty. Between 2007 and 2009 2/5 of all households of the poorest fifth of households were in fuel poverty. the protesters say the action is in defence of the global commons which are under sustained attack by the fossil fuel industry.
Once the West Burton power station is built and working, it will produce 4.5million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which is more than the annual emissions of the whole of Paraguay. Energy minister Ed Davey has also said that if built these new gas fired power stations will be exempt for carbon emission regulations and can continue to pump out carbon unabated until 2045.
I for one wish the folks at Dash for Gas the best of luck and congratulate them on their action.
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