Researchers from three climate change institutes have said replacing coal plant with gas-fired power stations would reduce the country’s carbon emissions in the near future but a heavy reliance on unabated gas would “hinder the decarbonisation of the UK’s power sector”.
The role of natural gas will be that of a ‘transition fuel’ but “there is only a limited window for baseload generation from gas-fired power plants with unabated emissions, during which time it should replace coal.”
In the medium to longer turn, the researchers claim gas can only play a more significant role if “CCS technology is deployed on a commercial scale”.
The researchers said the government’s gas Generation strategy “could jeopardise the UK achieving its mandatory emissions targets at least cost.”
The report also says the impact of shale gas in the UK would be “limited” because of uncertainty surrounding the amount of reserves and because the industry could take a couple of decades to reach maturity.
Despite this, the researchers said it is still worth exploring the potential of shale gas.