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Government approves first new UK deep coal mine in three decades
14/12/2022
News
The UK government has given the green light for a proposed new mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria, which would extract coking coal both for steel production in the UK and for export to Europe and would become the UK’s first new deep coal mine in 30 years. Yet the move was lambasted by environmental campaigners and climate change experts as being a retrograde step.
The announcement has been harshly criticised by environmental campaigners and climate experts, who say the West Cumbria Mining project would increase carbon emissions and undermine the UK’s net zero ambitions.
Claiming the UK government ‘risks becoming a superpower in climate hypocrisy rather than climate leadership’, Greenpeace UK Policy Director Doug Parr adds: ‘This mine will do absolutely nothing for the UK’s energy security since the coal it contains can only be used for steelmaking, not generating power, and more than 80% of it is earmarked for sale in Europe anyway.’
Meanwhile, supporters of the project state the new mine will create much needed jobs and reduce coal imports to the UK – with 500 permanent roles says developer West Cumbria Mining.
Although the local county council initially approved the Whitehaven mining project in 2020, planning authorities subsequently suspended the decision in early 2021 after Lord Deben, Chairman of the government’s advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC) described the proposal as ‘absolutely indefensible’ as it would increase carbon emissions and damage the UK’s stance on climate change.
However, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove has now reviewed the proposal and given the project the green light, stating that he is satisfied that there is ‘currently a UK and European market for the coal’ and that the impact of the project on carbon emissions ‘would be relatively neutral and not significant’.
Meanwhile, the UK government faces the prospect of a legal challenge over its plan to award up to 130 new oil and gas licences under the UK’s 33rd offshore licensing round, with Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Uplift stating in a recent letter to Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Grant Shapps that the round is ‘unlawful’ and calling for the decision, taken by his predecessor, Jacob Rees-Mogg, to be reversed.
Campaigners already have legal challenges underway relating to the Horse Hill oil project in Surrey, the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea and the $1bn financing for a gas mega-project in Mozambique. And there could be even more legal headaches looming if the government approves development plans for the Cambo or Rosebank fields, offshore the Shetland Islands.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said recently that he will relax planning rules for new onshore wind farms in England. The announcement came after increasing pressure from party backbenchers. He had previously scrapped a move by his predecessor Liz Truss to relax the rules, saying he wanted to prioritise building turbines offshore instead.
Onshore wind has no real impact on land use
In related news, analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found that the area of land in the UK that could be affected by onshore wind farms in the future is just 0.02% of the UK’s total area.
The UK currently has 15 GW of onshore wind. The government has previously announced proposals to expand this to 45 GW by 2035; however, as noted above, until recently a ban on onshore wind in England stood in the way of this proposal.
It is estimated that each onshore wind farm can typically provide 9 MW of generating capacity from each square kilometre (km2). But the turbines themselves stand on only a very small part of this area, around 1%, leaving 99% of the area free for farming or nature and wildlife, says the ECIU.
The land required for onshore wind farms is 3,500 times less than that used for agriculture, adds the ECIU, which also notes that not all farmed land is very productive.
Commenting on the report, Matt Williams, land analyst at the ECIU, says: ‘The real risk to the UK’s food security is climate change and the record price of gas. Farmers and families have been feeling these effects through food bills at the checkout and through record farm bills for energy and gas-based fertilisers. This year’s drought left many crops withering in the fields.’
He continues: ‘Onshore wind is cheap, popular with the public, and requires very little land. In fact, this is such a tiny fraction of the UK’s land, that it will have no real impact on other land uses such as farming. It can also support food production by providing secure revenue streams to help keep struggling farmers afloat.’
