March 12 (LNGJ) - UK Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said the government was committed to supporting the building of new gas-fired power plants, matched with more LNG imports to maintain a safe and reliable energy source when renewables are unavailable. “Without natural gas backing up renewables, we face the genuine prospect of blackouts,” said Coutinho.
“Other countries in recent years have been so threatened by supply constraints that they have been forced back to coal,” the Minister added. There are 32 gas-fired power stations in the UK, many of them built in the 1990s and coming to the end of their lifespan. The last new unabated gas power plant was announced in 2018.
