For some time oil has not been used as a major source of power generation in the UK. The country's three remaining oil-fired power stations only operate at times of very high demand to 'top up' the system and are likely to close by 2015. Coal and gas are the major fossil fuels used to generate power alongside nuclear power and increasingly renewables.
We are currently building two new large gas fired power stations. Although the UK's supplies of gas are dwindling there is increasingly liquefied gas available from around the world to add to the newly constructed import pipelines from mainland Europe. We are also developing plans for 4-6 new nuclear reactors in partnership with another energy company, E.ON. We are investigating the possibility of constructing of new, cleaner, coal fired power stations along with research and development into Carbon Capture and Storage (a process through which potentially climate-damaging CO2 emissions can be locked permanently away underground beneath the sea). Meanwhile we are investing hundreds of millions in the development of renewable energy sources, including large scale offshore schemes. We're confident that this investment programme, which could amount to more than £10bn pounds over the next decade, will not just keep the lights o but also reduce our carbon dioxide emissions.
