May 22, 2007
U.K.
U.K.
Dr Paul Golby, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, said Monday that his company welcomed the United Kingdom government’s Planning White Paper in the hope that it will smooth the process for building new power stations and renewable schemes.
E.ON’s UK has previously announced that its investment plans call for £3bn to be spent on such new assets as coal- and gas-fired power stations, as well as dozens of new onshore and offshore wind farms, many of which have been held up in planning for years.
“Simply put, if we want to make sure that we can build the new power stations and wind farms that we need to ensure the lights stay on and reduce carbon emissions, we have to have a planning framework that allows us to do that in a timely manner,” said Golby.
“The situation is especially pertinent for next generation nuclear power stations and for onshore wind farms, where some of our schemes have been held up in planning for literally years,” Golby said, adding “And, with the next generation of nuclear power stations, we simply can’t afford to have the delays that we saw with Sizewell B.”
According to Golby, “We will have to act swiftly and decisively to ensure that the UK’s lights stay on, that homes remain warm and that our carbon emissions are reduced and this White Paper is an excellent start.”
He added: “To achieve that, the new planning rules must be in place by 2009 at the latest to ensure that we can invest in the right projects at the right time.”
E.ON believes that the answer to the UK’s energy renewal is to have a diverse mix of fuel sources, including nuclear, new cleaner coal, gas and renewables.
The company already has multi-billion plans for two new gas-fired power stations, a new cleaner coal-fired power station, a clean coal power station and two large-scale offshore wind farms.
E.ON is also taking an active role in the pre-licensing and planning process for the next generation of nuclear power stations in the UK.
By EnerPub
21 May 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/05/22/eon-uk-welcomes-governments-energy-white-paper/