North Sea will still cater for business gas and electricity - 19/06/2009
Energy suppliers will continue to utilise the North Sea for resources, despite the global push to increase the reliance on renewable energy, reports the Press and Journal.
Energy minister Lord Hunt of King's Heath said the government has not lost sight of the importance of the North Sea as an energy resource and that the region still has a huge amount to offer the UK.
He added that continuing to extract oil and gas from the seabed is crucial to ensure the future energy security of the UK, alongside working towards clean energy and environmental goals.
Lord Hunt told the paper: "Climate change for me is a critical issue and renewable energy is one of the ways that will lead us towards a low-carbon economy, but alongside that we have to ensure security of supply and so I don't believe there's a tension between those twin goals in the department."
Plans to build new power stations burning fossil fuels have been criticised but new nuclear reactors will not be operational until at least 2017.
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