Roger Helmer: Osborne deals hammer blow to UK coal

From the Lincolnshire Echo a short piece by Roger Helmer MEP:

Back in 2010, soon after the General Election, the then Energy Minister, Conservative Charles Hendry, announced no new coal-fired power stations could be built in the UK without Carbon Capture and Storage. But CCS adds 20 to 25 per cent to the cost of energy (or put it another way, reduces efficiency by the same factor). So – surprise, surprise – there have been no takers. The unintended consequence has been no new coal capacity at all.

I am often asked how Germany can be building a couple of dozen new coal-fired power stations, and we in Britain can’t. This is how. It’s a self-inflicted injury, and our Coalition government is directly responsible for it.