The Energy and Climate Change Committee has warned of another possible dash for gas in a report published last week.

The parliamentary committee has targeted the UK coalition government’s National Policy Statements (NPSs), designed to speed up the planning process for energy projects.

The report warns that the NPSs could in fact reduce investment in renewable and low carbon energy schemes, and increase dependence on natural gas.

This would make the UK’s carbon reduction targets impossible to reach, the report says.

It is expected the UK will need some £200bn invested in the energy infrastructure by 2020 to cope with rising demand, whilst also cutting carbon emissions.

According to the report, the NPSs do not prioritise low carbon initiatives enough, which could leave the UK too dependant on fossil fuels.

The government currently expects wind power to make up much of the 15% renewable energy target by 2020.

But the report, while it concedes that conventional gas plants are required to cover base demand, warns that Britain could be left with an energy infrastructure over reliant on fossil fuels.

The report also questions whether building 16gw of low carbon nuclear energy, or two new plants per year by 2025 is a realistic target.

Subscribe to our RSS Feed to get the latest UK energy news.