Tom Greatrex, shadow energy minister, said Labour’s commitment to the environment came not only from the potential of developing renewable technology but also the opportunity to create jobs.
He said that Labour’s environmental commitment, unveiled today, was two-fold: resetting the retail part of the energy market and committing to a 2030 decarbonisation target.
He said the decarbonisation target gave long-term certainty over direction which had not existed beyond 2020.
Greatrex said the 20-month price freeze would give time for the pool to be established. He insisted, however, that it was not about moving towards nationalisation but about getting the long term framework right.
Those long term goals, he added, were not only about carbon emission targets but also about the security of supply and attracting investment. He said up to three offshore wind turbine manufacturers had often gone as far as signing memoranda of understanding to build their manufacturing plants but had not made a final commitment due partly to frustration over the government’s long term vision.
Greatrex said the industry needed to know what the government was planning because energy decisions have “hugely long term implications”. He said there was a broad degree of energy policy consensus between parties but that had been fractured by the issue of fracking.
Asked which international examples should follow, Greatrex warned that Germany’s decision to de-nuclearise in a short timeframe had resulted in an increase of high-carbon coal power use.
He did praise Germany, however, for its model of having a broader range of ownership, more community involvement and more of a sense of developing efficiency programmes.
Asked about the inter-connectors being built in Ireland, Greatrex said they could be used as a source of energy to the UK because “we’ve got to keep a wide range to get the best possible mix”.
He said there were “big issues” over two new power reactor stations in Finland and France, the same model that was set to be built in Hinkley.
“There are big issues, particularly in France, over the management of the build. We should be in a position where we learn from the issues that come up.”
He said the negotiations between the government and EDF were important because there was a risk that the price could escalate.
“I support nuclear as a low-carbon energy but not at any price.” Greatrex added.
More widely on Europe, he told Mark Potter that the situation with the EU was always difficult but that the changes in terms of developing a single energy market “present an opportunity to have a similar sense of direction”.
Greatrex said the big six energy companies were despised by customers in the UK and that we needed to build back trust in energy companies.
“The best way of ensuring you get the best possible transparency, clarity and fairness to consumers - which I think is also in the interest of the companies - is by doing what we said today... ensuring proper separation between income generation and retail.”
Andrew Norman, chief executive officer, JDR Cables, said he “strongly believed” offshore wind should be part of the sustainable energy mix and said that the best situation would see the UK not relying on one single energy source.
He added that offshore wind could only be cost effective if the UK reached the right scale, meaning some capital coming from private investors.
Norman called for some protection to ensure that new jobs created in offshore wind stayed in the UK.
Responding to a question about what is holding the UK back, he said many operators are owned by foreign governments who have their own agenda. “We shouldn’t be naive... not everyone plays by the same rules.”
He added, however, that if companies were part-subsidised by the government, they had a duty to keep jobs in the UK. Norman later added that it was a “British disease” to innovate new technology but subsequently fail to turn it into jobs. He recognised, however, that government was making some funds available for new technology.
On low carbon heat, he said big companies needed to build plants in the UK but added that the process would not get underway until the market becomes more stable.
Ben Reid, chief executive, the Mid Counties Co-operative and Co-opeative Energy, said his company was based on a model which was fair to customers, offering a single tariff and contributing to a low carbon economy.
The company is owned by customers and profits are shared amongst them. “We don’t want to be in the game, we don’t want to win the game, we want to change the game. We want energy to move more into the control of consumers.”
He called for more funding for community-owned power generation units and praised community-involvement in Germany where local groups have benefited from wind farms. Reid added that those ties with the local communities would differentiate them from the “cartel” of energy companies.
Reid welcomed the energy price freeze announced by Labour - and said the open-book approach for companies was the way forward - but warned that it could give the big six firms the opportunity to “screw” his small firm to the ground.
He added: “We are supportive of the crowd-sourcing model whereby communities get together... this is not about asking government for hand-outs, the Co-op is about self help, we can get a virtuous circle to make this work.”
On international comparisons, Reid talked up the high proportion of the US grid in community ownership and identified smart meters as an effective way of controlling energy use and expenditure.
It was particularly optimistic that it could be used the pay-and-go system for paying bills which he felt was currently penalising people at the bottom of the economic scale the most.
He spoke of his frustration that, despite holding discussions with dozens of councils about low carbon heat options, “enthusiasm quickly disappears”.
Mark Potter, head of renewable energy, RSA, said consumers needed to adapt to the changing climate. Better protection would be offered by better flood defence and a more diverse energy mix, he added.
He underlined the potential of economic growth from renewable projects, especially on coastal towns that have been badly hit by the recession.
“It has been estimated that the economy could gain 30,000 jobs and £7bn in added value by the end of the decade through offshore wind alone provided the right support mechanisms are in place to give confidence to investors.”
Potter said the renewable sector as a whole could, according to European Commission estimates, generate 5 million jobs across Europe by 2020.
He urged the UK to provide clear signals it was committed to the Green economy. While welcoming Labour’s commitment, Potter called for an imaginative industrial policy before investors looked elsewhere.