FOCUS ON RENEWABLE ENERGY KEY TO SOLVING ENERGY CRISIS: MULHOLLAND

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 14th Mar 2006

Greg Mulholland, MP for Leeds North West, has today commented on the potential energy crisis, sparked by the continuing rise of UK natural gas prices yesterday.

Commenting, Greg said:

"In eight years of rabbiting on about the environment labour has done little to move away from the UK's dependence upon fossil fuels. Government projections assume gas to be the largest part of the UK's power generation well into the next decade.

"We are now a net importer of gas and this just hasn't been thought through.

"Energy is a crux issue and I don't believe that nuclear power is a viable solution to this problem. We must be bolder and invest more in renewable technology, especially tidal and offshore wind farms. We should also focus more on microgeneration, which enables the generation of heat and electricity with minimal pollution. We should also have a different approach to new buildings so that we can begin to change our energy needs.

"This winter's problems are the government's fault. We are feeling the brunt of a timid and short-sighted energy policy."