When asked to put together my reflections of the year gone and predictions for the year to come, I felt depressed. The line, “you couldn’t make this up” was foremost in my mind – no festive cheer I’m afraid, it is a depressing picture.
We had three different (but the same?) administrations at Westminster in as many months and the damage they have inflicted on the country has yet to be fully realised. What a mess we are in. No wonder my Danish, Dutch, and Norwegian Trade Union colleagues look at me in bewilderment when discussing the energy sector in the UK.
We are a nation rich in natural resources, yet we pay more for energy than most of our EU counterparts. Increasing numbers of the population are in fuel poverty, the question of heat or eat is one faced by too many. Workers in the energy sector have fewer protections, they work more hours and get paid less than most EU energy workers. We have no real manufacturing base for energy transition, we export most of our decommissioning work and import most of our renewables projects.
World leaders? Really?
Politicians in this country must wake up to the fact that we need a new model. We need an energy plan that will actually deliver a return for the people of this nation in terms of affordable and secure energy supplies. An industry which employs workers domiciled and/or paying taxes and National Insurance (NI) payments in the UK to support our economy (including migrant workers which we will need). A manufacturing base that can deal with developments and decom, and not just oil and gas decom – there will be thousands of wind turbine towers needing recycled in time.
We should be manufacturing hydrogen, we need to get after carbon capture and storage, we need to transform our transport systems and to retro-fit millions of homes.
There’s a lot to do, and this is where we are definitely world leaders – talking about it!
Nearly half of UK offshore wind capacity is state-owned, or partially state-owned, while the remainder is in private hands. In state-owned terms, Denmark and Norway have the biggest share and that’s growing. UK ownership is all but zero and well behind other countries like France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, even China. And China already has a sizeable chunk of our oil and gas via its CNOOC operations.
All these states are generating returns for their respective nations, exploiting our resources, while we apply the blunt instrument which is a ‘windfall tax’ and create transition “funds”.
I emphasise ‘funds’ as I find it staggering we can give away money to those tasked with developing and exploiting our natural resources. Why aren’t we creating Transition ‘Investments’ to generate a return for the people of this state? Why aren’t we partners at the very least and able to exert influence? As investors make profits, so do we, we get a share of that profit.
For me it’s the economics of a mad house – but that’s Westminster. They sat on their hands as P&O Ferries sacked over 800 UK workers; they continue to allow foreign operators to exploit poor foreign nationals on modern day slavery rates of pay; Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland acreage is sold for a pittance and we give those companies subsidies back; foreign contractors pay little tax or NI, and employ scant UK workers – and so the list goes on.
We have little or no influence and the energy transition is sadly passing us by. The Scottish Government briefly muted a state-owned, not-for-profit energy company, that’s been buried. Labour flagged up the idea of ‘Great British Energy’ then dropped it like a hot spud!
That’s my reflection on the last year. My prediction for the one to come is more of the same.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Politicians could put aside political ideology for the benefit of the country. We could use our long-established supply chains to develop our energy plan and ensure a genuine green recovery. We can create thousands of jobs, heat our homes, ensure security of supply, take millions out of fuel poverty, grow our economy, fund our public services and our NHS.
We can do it – but it’s not ‘goodwill’ we need, it’s the political will.
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