Pressing the Prime Minister about a European Supergrid
7th February 2007
Alan Whitehead today received a positive response from Tony Blair at Prime Minister’s Questions when he asked him whether there was support from the German Chancellor for an EU Supergrid. However, while Dr Whitehead welcomed the Prime Minister’s answer he warned that progress needs to be faster.
Dr Whitehead held a House of Commons Adjournment Debate on the issue of a EU Supergrid to connect offshore wind farms back in June 2006 to raise awareness of the benefits that such a Supergrid would bring:
- it facilitates the development of a clean, secure and sustainable indigenous source of energy in a cost-competitive way
- it would remove a major obstacle to the creation of a single electricity market in Europe, i.e. the lack of interconnection between member states
- it would allow the retention of a highly skilled UK engineering competence
However, during the same debate he laid out three key political barriers that needed to be overcome for progress to be made on the EU Supergrid:
- the political will in the UK, Netherlands and Germany to address the regulatory issues - which looks positive following today’s response
- access to offshore wind farm sites in the UK (these are already available in Germany and the Netherlands)
- an easing of the turbine supply constraints currently delaying certain offshore wind projects.
Speaking after Prime Ministers Question Time, Dr Whitehead said:
‘I was very pleased to hear that the Prime Minister had been in talks with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and that he supported the opportunity that large offshore wind farms connected by a Supergrid could have in reducing our carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuel. I look forward to seeing how this project will be outlined in the White Paper on Energy which will be published shortly.’
However, Dr Whitehead will continue to lobby the government on this important issue adding:
‘Whilst the Prime Minister’s support is hugely reassuring, when we know that all the technology to build this Supergrid is available now, the slow rate of progress can be very frustrating. There will need to be real and substantive progress if we are to make this Supergrid a reality in time to meet the perceived energy gap of 2015-20 entirely by renewable means. Now that we have the political will of the German Chancellor and the British Prime Minister confirmed we need to see progress in the other two key areas regarding access to offshore wind farm sites and constraints with wind turbine supply.
I will continue to apply pressure on the government so that this Supergrid moves from an imaginative project to a carbon saving reality.’
More information
- The full text of Dr Alan Whitehead’s question and the Prime Minister’s response can be viewed online here or as follows:
Q2. [119033] Dr. Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab): Has my right hon. Friend spoken to the Chancellor of Germany about the proposed European wind super grid? If he has, what did she say to him?
The Prime Minister: As a matter of fact, I have discussed the super wind grid, as it is called, with Chancellor Merkel. It is potentially a very exciting project for a huge wind farm in the North sea, but—as my hon. Friend will recognise—many issues to do with cost and feasibility would have to be overcome. If we could increase significantly the amount of renewable energy that we get from wind sources, it would make a big difference to our ability to cut our CO2 emissions. My hon. Friend is right to say that such imaginative projects and the other measures that we will outline in the energy White Paper offer us the best way forward.
- The full text of Dr Whitehead’s Adjournment Debate on the EU Supergrid and Wind Farms can be viewed online here
