Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, welcomes the announcement in the 2019 Spring Statement of the Bright Blue policy of requiring an increased proportion of green gas in the grid.
Commenting Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:
“The Government has rightly adopted Bright Blue’s policy of an obligation on gas suppliers to ensure a certain proportion of green gas is in the grid. The detail is to come, but a new low carbon gas obligation on gas suppliers should be introduced by Ofgem in the next price control framework from April 2021.
“This low-carbon obligation should include a requirement for gas suppliers to deliver a steadily increasing proportion of low carbon gases – which includes biomethane, bioSNG and hydrogen – to the network. The proportion of low carbon gas injected into the gas network, and the trajectory for this over time, should be consistent with meeting the UK’s current and likely greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.”
Last month, Bright Blue published a new report, Pressure in the pipeline: decarbonising the UK’s gas. In response to this report, the Rt Hon Claire Perry MP, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, said:
“I welcome this thought provoking work from Bright Blue. Through rapid progress in decarbonising power generation, the UK has grown its economy whilst cutting carbon faster than any other country in the G7; but if we are going to build on this success, we need to get serious in tackling heat. This welcome report points to policy solutions that build on the strength of our natural gas sector where we are a world leader, and the hugely valuable assets of our gas networks.”
“Hydrogen and Biomethane can help deliver serious climate action through our existing infrastructure, keeping consumers on board and maintaining the flexibility and resilience provided by the gas system.”
