Playing with fire

The UK government’s decision on whether or not to approve E.on’s plans to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth (see news p6) leaves few hiding places for the politicians, environmental campaigners or, for that matter, the process engineering and power industries.

To date, the debate over Kingsnorth has highlighted the paucity of the ‘green’ movement’s energy argument, which, if taken to its ultimate conclusion, would leave the UK to the vagaries of wave and wind power, biofuels and, presumably, pulling the plug on much of its energy requirement. Politicians seeking to enhance their green credentials by signing up to this vision — Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently backed a plastics bags ban and Tory leader David Cameron spoke on a Greenpeace platform — are playing with fire.

Brown et al must ignore the environmental campaigners’ call to “say no to new coal” and support the UK’s drive towards a diverse energy-supply mix, amid dwindling North Sea oil reserves and growing reliance on oil and gas supplies from politically unstable regions in the Middle East and eastern Europe.

As well as the Kingsnorth project — and other coal-fired projects in the pipeline — the UK must develop new nuclear, LNG, oil & gas and renewables resources; plus of course technologies that reduce emissions and consumption. This must be based on a thorough understanding of many complex issues, including how and when carbon capture and storage can feasibly be used on coal-fired power stations and what contribution wave and wind power can make to the energy mix.

With their expertise in these key areas, process engineers have a pivotal role in shaping the future direction of UK energy policy. Ignoring their contribution will relegate the country to a second-rate, energy-poor player in the new global order, which will be driven by technologies, skills and other resources that deliver energy requirements at maximum efficiency and minimum environmental impact.