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Transcript
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SPEAKER 1
Hello and welcome to this IEA briefing. My name is Reem Ibrahim and I'm the Communications Manager here at the Institute of Economic Affairs. Yesterday, Reform UK have announced their first policy since the election on energy. They've announced a windfall tax on renewable generated power, a solar farm tax on farmers taking the renewable subsidy,
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a ban on battery energy storage systems, and legislation to force national grid to put cables underground. To talk about this, I'm delighted to be joined by Andy Mayer, the IEA's COO and energy analyst. Andy, what did you make of these policies initially? Well,
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SPEAKER 2
I was quite excited to hear that reform had put some policies out, but then a little bit disappointed by what they've actually delivered. And to be clear on that, they are one of the only parties involved in the uk saying sensible things about net zero by which i mean they know this plan

In this IEA Briefing, we analyse Reform UK's newly announced energy policies with Andy Mayer, the IEA's energy analyst and CEO. The discussion covers four key policies: a windfall tax on renewable power, a solar farm tax, a ban on battery energy storage systems, and legislation to force National Grid to underground cable installation.

Andy breaks down each policy, explaining that while Reform UK has been making sensible points about net zero's challenges, their proposed solutions raise concerns. He discusses how the windfall tax largely duplicates existing legislation, questions the food security argument behind the solar farm tax, challenges the logic of banning battery storage systems, and highlights the enormous costs of mandatory underground cable installation.

The conversation provides valuable context around energy market regulations, subsidy schemes, and the importance of technology-neutral approaches. Andy emphasises that the focus should be on deregulation and letting energy markets work efficiently, rather than creating new restrictions for specific industries.

Discussion about this video

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Boomer down pub's avatar

Please just cut to the heart of the matter. CO2 follows temperature so cannot drive. That alone cuts the ground from under the harmful net zero agenda. More CO2 is good, not bad.

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SPEAKER 2
I was quite excited to hear that reform had put some policies out, but then a little bit disappointed by what they've actually delivered. And to be clear on that, they are one of the only parties involved in the uk saying sensible things about net zero by which i mean they know this plan