With competitive ruin looming, energy policy needs a brand new start

This is a  European, not just a British problem; an ill-managed rush to renewables is causing energy prices to soar. It is also causing coal-fired electricity generation to come back in a desperate bid to plug supply gaps so emissions are increasing. Europe’s refusal to embrace shale, together with Germany’s repudiation of nuclear power, is threatening competitive decimation of once-thriving industries. While retail energy prices in Britain are among the lowest in major European economies, with industry, it is the reverse; thanks to the Government’s various green initiatives, prices are already some of the most expensive.Tata Steel complains of energy prices being up to 50pc higher than  in Germany and France. The carbon floor price is set to make the disparity greater still.