Letters | 20 June 2019

Eco opportunity

Sir: As a North Sea oil engineer now working on the UK’s ‘green’ energy transition, I believe Ross Clark (‘Greener than thou’, 15 June) raised many valid points but missed out on the major opportunities for the UK economy.

Irrespective of what we believe to be the extent of climate change, other key factors are changing rapidly. Who will want to drive their own petrol car when they can summon an autonomous vehicle at the click of an app? And with the global population rising, the total energy demand continues to soar. In the UK, leaps in technology have led to major investment and seen energy generation costs tumble in the past decade. We are now world number one in offshore windpower generation, and the latest round of windfarms are almost subsidy-free. A similar level of backing to the hydrogen economy would balance out intermittent renewable power, and offer cleaner transportation as a natural partner to electric vehicles.