Call for 'National Energy Institute' developing green energy to be set up in Cambridge

Cait Findlay
·1-min read
Lord Browne of Madingley called for a National Energy Institute in Cambridge (stock image)
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


A call for a 'National Energy Institute' to be set up in Cambridge has been made in the House of Lords. Lord John Browne of Madingley made the case for a National Energy Institute on Thursday (November 14).

Lord Browne, who was chief executive of energy company BP between 1995 and 2007, was made a life peer in 2001. He is currently chairman of BeyondNetZero, a "climate growth equity venture", according to his GOV.UK biography.

Lord Browne's speech said supplying electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar costs less than supplying it from generators using oil, coal, gas, or nuclear fission. He said the cost of renewable power has dropped by around 60% in the last decade.

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He said: "Renewables will be a significant contributor to the transition to clean energy sources. Their continued cost-effective deployment is vital to avoid the impacts of climate change.

"They are not the only source of climate mitigation, but they do tell a story which needs to be repeated in other technologies. And their continued improvement and deployment in the UK gives us credibility in the energy transition industry."

Lord Browne called for the creation of a National Energy Institute to bring together UK resources to improve and deploy renewable energy sources. "It will need to be based in a city which already attracts the best people and has an appropriate platform of scientific and technical support," he said.

"Given its track record in energy, Cambridge must come high, if not top, of the list of candidates." He said an institute of the type he described would help the UK secure low-cost and 'clean' sources of energy for future generations.

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