British minister eyes diverse green sector

• Tweet

LONDON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Putting all of the country's renewable energy eggs in one basket isn't an effective strategy for a secure future, the British energy minister writes.

Writing in The Guardian newspaper, British Energy Minister John Hayes said Britain's renewable energy strategy has the potential to bring in as much as $40 billion in investments in the next four years.

Hayes, who replaced Charles Hendry in a government shakeup last summer, said he's "always" considered renewable energy important for the country so long as strategies are enacted in the right places and the right costs.

"In planning our future energy strategy, we cannot afford to become dependent on a single form of generation," he writes. "To provide resilience and security in a complex world characterized by dynamic change we need a balanced energy mix: a mix that includes new nuclear, gas, new carbon capture and storage technology and renewable energy of the right kind."

Comments offered by the energy minister sparked a row among lawmakers and in the British media. A headline this week in The Guardian notes that Hayes was given a "slap down" by Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey for speaking out against wind energy strategies in the country.

Davey this week said onshore wind was one of the cheapest renewable energy options available and "has an important role to play in our energy future."