Don’t let anyone EVER say Direct Action does NOT get the goods.
This was the site of many UK protests, direct actions and climate camps. Big victory for people powered NVDA movements in the UK.
Kingsnorth power station plans shelved by E.ON
Kingsnorth power station site has been the scene of many protests including Camp For Climate Action last year.
E.ON, the energy group, tonight effectively threw in the towel on its plans to build a new coal-power station at Kingsnorth, blaming the recession.
In a heavy blow to the government’s plans to promote energy from coal, E.ON said lower demands for electricity due to the recession had pushed the need for the new plant in the UK to around 2016.
The company said, however, that it remained committed to the development of cleaner coal and carbon capture and storage “which we believe have a key role to play alongside renewables, gas and nuclear in tackling the global threat of climate change while ensuring affordability and security of energy supplies”.
While the company described the decision as a postponement, the announcement effectively scuppers the whole project, green groups said.
Kingsnorth has been shrouded in controversy ever since inception, with protests over several years including a high-profile Climate Camp protest.
Six Greenpeace protesters who climbed the smokestack at the plant were later acquitted after the jury accepted the plant posed a greater threat than the activities of the activists.
Environmentalists hailed the decision as a victory against dirty coal.
“This development is extremely good news for the climate and in a stroke significantly reduces the chances of an unabated Kingsnorth plant ever being built,” said Greenpeace executive director John Sauven.
“The case for new coal is crumbling, with even E.ON now accepting it’s not currently economic to build new plants. The huge diverse coalition of people who have campaigned against Kingsnorth because of the threat it posed to the climate should take heart that emissions from new coal are now even less likely in Britain.”
He added: “Ed Miliband [the environment secretary] now has a golden opportunity to rule out all emissions from new coal as a sign of Britain’s leadership before the key Copenhagen climate meeting. With E.ON’s announcement he’s now got an open goal.”
E.ON insisted that the Kingsnorth project was not dead and its decision stemmed from specific economic decisions.
“Kingsnorth is not dead at all,” said Jonathan Smith, an E.ON spokesman. “The application was made in 2006 and no one could have foreseen the fall in demand and the drop in wholesale prices. Demand has fallen so much because of the recession that there is no need for a new plant.”
E.ON also pointed out that it has yet to receive government permission to go ahead with the project.
sweet! look forward to more exciting coal actions from Greenpeace and others building up to Copenhagen!
Erm.
I support the campaign to stop coal fired power stations.
But to claim that EON has been influenced by direct action, is total bullshit.
CO2 emissions world wide have reduced due to the recession, which basically means consumption of energy has fallen. That won’t last forever. Greenpeace does some good work, including the protests, but they are also doing a PR exercise here when they make these extravagant claims about Kingsnorth.
It’s not total bullshit. That’s like saying the results of the suffrage movement or civil rights movement happened out of the goodness of people’s hearts. Coal plants are being stopped left and right partially because of the fierce response from civil society.
E ON, F OFF!
E.ON, F.OFF!
Hi Scott.
I support what Greenpeace does. But it doesn’t help when they make a claim that clearly is incorrect. The protests at Kingsnorth were very effective and raised awareness of the issue.
However the protest would have never have stopped the building of the power station, the recession did. EON are still using a purely economic model for deciding whether to build these power stations. The best that Greenpeace and even me can claim is that it is a hollow victory.
Why?
Because until Greenpeace and the rest of us can change the corporate culture to factor in climate change and environmental issues into their economic and business models, then companies like EON will start building coal fired power stations again when the recession finishes.
What Greenpeace can hope for, is that by the time EON is ready to build Kingsnorth, renewables are on the agenda at a bigger scale so that there is no need for another coal fired power station.
The other issue is of course to radically reduce demand for energy, so that the market for a Kingsnorth is no longer there.
Gooseberry – is there any room for activism and direct action in influencing corporate decisions?
I don’t know the specifics of this action, so I can’t refute it, but your comments make it seem like direct action is never going to impact an energy company’s decision. (Will action trump economics? probably only in the rarest circumstances, but will energetic and direct public action influence those decisions?)
Re: Morgan
Of course direct action is important and it can influence people. I more or less have stated that.
The Kingsnorth campaign had its place, along with all the other things people do to raise awareness.
But it is pointless making wild claims. Most of us criticise governments and corporations for greenwashing, so it’s not a good idea if some environmentalists do something similar.
What has happened is important because it means that there is some time for low carbon energy developments to progress, so that EON might not get the chance to build the power station. The recession has done that, but Greenpeace is claiming there is no economic justification for the plant, that is spin, twisting the truth. They shouldn’t even be playing the economics game that EON are stating is the cause!
What is likely to happen is that over the next 5 years, carbon capture will be developed and EON will come back later with a new proposal. That isn’t a victory, it’s just a postponement.
This is a long hard battle and instant victories are just PR hype.