As part of the UK’s new energy policy, families living near nuclear power facilities and onshore wind farms may see lower energy bills.
Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, approved a discount and hinted that planning constraints may be reduced in Boris Johnson’s energy strategy, which will be published this week.
This energy security strategy is believed to have a clear push on renewables and nuclear power. It is also predicted to support the North Sea oil and gas industry to cut the UK’s reliance on energy imports.
Giving some more detail on how this would work, Zahawi said the Government will use incentives rather than compulsion as he stressed communities need to back the plans.
“I would say that if we are going to make sure that we carry the will of local people, whether it’s onshore wind or nuclear, we have to learn from how it’s done well in other countries,” Mr Zahawi told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.
“The way you do that is to make sure the local community has a real say.
“But also we’ve seen great examples of other people where if they build a nuclear power station, within a certain radius of that power station they get free power.”
The plan would be modelled on an existing programme run by Octopus Energy, which offers clients living near its turbines up to a 50% discount on their power. After receiving big interest, the business hopes to build five more wind turbines by the end of year.
Onshore wind farms in England now require nearly unanimous support from communities in order to be approved, while the barriers are substantially lower in other areas of the UK.
This comes as the UK strives to rid its dependance on Russian Gas. Currently, half of the UK’s gas is imported, a third from Norway and Russia being the fourth largest market for UK gas imports in 2021. Around 5% of UK imports are from Russia, almost £1bn of Russian gas purchased.
Given the expense to taxpayers of financing such massive projects that would not be operational for decades, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is claimed to be less enthusiastic, with a target of attaining the UK Government’s ‘net zero’ goal by 2050.
The Chancellor intends to slash expenditure so that he can lower taxes before the next general election, which is scheduled in 2024. This may be one of the reasons the strategy has seen so many delays, with disagreements between Boris and Sunak reportedly brewing.
Households are already facing mammoth Energy Bill rises after Ofgem announced the rise in price cap going into effect in April. To calculate your current energy bill, visit here.