‘We’ll never dump oil and gas’: Oslo warns EU over renewables

Norway has warned Europe against a headlong rush to renewables in the wake of the power outage that threw Spain into darkness and after Tony Blair said net zero was ‘doomed to fail’.

Unused oil rigs stand in the Port of Cromarty Firth in Cromarty, UK. Picture: Bloomberg.

Norway has warned the rest of Europe against a headlong rush to renewables in the wake of the power outage that threw Spain and Portugal into darkness earlier this week, as Oslo’s energy minister insists the country will never turn its back on gas and oil.

In a firm rebuke to Britain’s net zero pledge which former prime minister Tony Blair on Wednesday lashed as “doomed to fail”, Terje Aasland told the UK Telegraph Norway would move slowly toward renewable energy “but gas will deliver the base load capacity that is really important to maintain [stability] in electric systems.”

“We want to develop [the North Sea] for the long-term, because the oil and gas industry … is really important,” Mr Aasland said.

Mr Aasland spoke as Spain’s government and its power operators launched into a blame game over the blackout that has been blamed on the country’s focus on solar and wind power.

As officials continue trying to pin down the cause of the massive outage that caused chaos across three countries and has been linked to three deaths, Spain’s Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez accused energy operators of a lack of transparency, saying he would “demand all relevant responsibilities from all private operators”. After meeting energy company directors, Mr Sanchez posted on X that he had “asked them to co-operate with the government … in identifying the cause of the incident”.

El Pais, a newspaper close to the government, reported: “Sanchez is furious with Red Electrica Spain’s (the national grid operator)” for its “excessive opacity … and [for] not giving a clear explanation of what happened”.

But Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the opposition People’s Party, said Mr Sánchez was covering up information about the cause of the power cut and accused him of prioritising green ideology in his energy policy.

Solar and wind power accounted for almost 40 per cent of Spain’s electricity last year, twice as much as in 2014, according to electricity operator REE. Four days before the blackout that halted trains, trapped people in elevators and plunged cities into darkness, Spain had celebrated its first day of 100 per cent renewable power.

Meanwhile in Britain, as Tony Blair’s intervention in the debate sparked turmoil in Westminster, Keir Starmer was told by his own MPs and unions to heed the advice of the former prime minister, the most significant of Britain’s leaders since Margaret Thatcher.

The hard-left Unite union – no friend of Sir Tony – said his warnings “must be a wake-up call for the government”.

Dan Carden, the leader of the “socially conservative” Blue Labour party told the UK Telegraph: “The government’s time frame on the move to clean energy is problematic. We need time in order to re-industrialise.”

The future of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who has spearheaded the UK’s move to renewables, has also been left in doubt as the Labour party descended into civil war over the issue.

Mr Miliband’s vow to ban all new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea in his bid to hit net zero by 2050 sparked Sir Tony’s attack and Mr Aasland’s rebuke.

Asked by UK media if Mr Miliband would stay in his role for the rest of this parliament, a Downing Street spokesman would only say “The PM absolutely backs the Energy Secretary.”