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Hendry promises carbon floor price "when new nuclear plant comes on line"The government wants to have a floor price for carbon, "By the end of the next decade, when new plant comes on line", according to energy minister Charles Hendry. Hendry was speaking at a Nuclear Industry Forum, but he said the floor price would be there to support new renewable energy and carbon capture and storage as well as new nuclear power stations. He said his department was looking for a carbon price mechanism that would "drive investment through the next decade" but one that would not penalise existing fossil fuel plants or give a financial boost to nuclear power plants near the end of their lives. The department was considering whether the price should rise steadily through the first decade or remain very low for its first years. Hendry said his own estimate was that investors would need a significant carbon price in the 2018 timeframe. The minister promised a consultation, but said it would be around the government's preferred approach rather than inviting broad comment. Hendry also confirmed that a review of energy regulator Ofgem was high on the government's agenda. He praised the thoroughness of Ofgem's "project Discovery" assessment, but said that policy work should be done by the Department for Energy and Climate Change. He said Ofgem needed a "more precise regulatory role". And he said that although the day to day programme management work of Ofgem's E-Serve group was needed, it did not need to be done within the department. Source: Utility Week © Faversham House Group Ltd 2010. News articles may be copied or forwarded
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