EU to brace for ‘starkest’ winter as due to 'energy war'
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The Prime Minister said this will include building eight new nuclear reactors in the UK.
Under the multi-billion pound plans Mr Johnson is expected to announce an in-principle agreement to offer funding to the Sizewell C nuclear reactor in Suffolk.
In a major speech today, Mr Johnson will set out how the government will reduce the country’s dependency on expensive foreign fossil fuels.
This will ultimately bring down bills through boosting supplies of home-grown energy, he will say.
The British Energy Security Strategy will scale up and accelerate clean, affordable and secure energy made in Great Britain – from North Sea oil and gas to nuclear and offshore wind.
This includes a significant new approach to nuclear energy by delivering eight new reactors in the UK, at the pace equivalent to one a year instead of one a decade.
Under the plans 95 per cent of electricity will be low carbon renewables like wind, solar and hydrogen by 2030.
It comes as energy bills have soared by 80 per cent following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tory leadership favourite Liz Truss has vowed to tackle the energy crisis with plans to ramp up North Sea oil and gas drilling.
Kwasi Kwarteng, who is likely to become her chancellor, is said to be “100 per cent” behind the Sizewell C project after leading negotiations in his present role as business secretary.
In speech in the East of England the Prime Minister is expected to say: “The situation we face today is deeply worrying, but this government has already stepped in to help with billions of pounds in support.
“And our British Energy Security Strategy is not just about meeting demand today but many years hence.
“The big decisions this government has made on our energy future will bequeath a United Kingdom where energy is cheap, clean, reliable, and plentiful, and made right here on British soil.
“A future where families and businesses are never again at the mercy of international markets or foreign despots.”
The UK has already stepped up production of domestic gas – 26 per cent more this year than last – and the North Sea Transition Authority plans to launch another licensing round in the autumn, meaning more domestic gas on the grid sooner.
The latest round of the Government’s flagship renewables scheme this year secured a record 11GW of clean energy, enough to power around 12 million homes.
This included the greatest capacity of new offshore wind projects, enough to increase the country’s overall capacity built and under construction by 35 per cent.
On Tuesday, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea Two, off the coast of Yorkshire, became operational – set to generate enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes.
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