Esther Krakue has said Green Party leadership hopeful Zack Polanski is "as dim as a cave" after recalling a TV appearance where he suggested wind should set the marginal price for energy instead of gas. Writing for Express.co.uk, she said the moment convinced her that Britain's energy future is "doomed".
A baffling encounter on Channel 5
Krakue described appearing on the Alexis Conran show on Channel 5 with Polanski, who was then running for the Green Party leadership. She said she was not told beforehand who she would be on with but had "always got on relatively well" with previous panellists. She found Polanski "perfectly polite, charming", but added: "as dim as a cave".
During the discussion on energy prices, Polanski said: "I don't know why we let gas set the marginal price for energy in this country. When I become Prime Minister, I'll make it wind." Krakue said she was "genuinely stunned into silence" by his ignorance.
Record import bills and grid reliance
Krakue argued that the UK's energy policy is failing, pointing to record import figures. She noted that in May alone, Britain spent £439 million importing power from Europe, the highest monthly bill ever recorded outside the Ukraine energy crisis, and £1.7 billion between January and May. She said the country is on course to beat last year's £3.6 billion, half of which went to France's state-owned EDF.
She added that on some days last week, three-quarters of the electricity keeping London and the South East going came down a cable from France and the Low Countries, and in June grid engineers had to ring Paris to keep the lights on.
Wind and solar weaknesses exposed
Krakue highlighted the irony that heatwaves, often associated with high-pressure zones that lead to low winds, reduce wind farm output. Solar panels also become less efficient in high temperatures, losing output by up to a fifth in real summer sun, despite being tested at 25C in a laboratory.
She criticised Ed Miliband, who recently stepped down as Energy Secretary, saying he "may not be solely responsible" for the state of the country's energy but has "played a huge role". She questioned his qualifications, noting he left Oxford in 1992, spent a year as a researcher on a Channel 4 politics programme, and by 1993 was writing speeches for Harriet Harman at the age of 23. He later became Gordon Brown's special adviser and was parachuted into Doncaster North in 2005.
Krakue also mentioned that US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, a former oil industry CEO who has said "there is no climate crisis and we're not in the midst of an energy transition either", supposedly nicknamed Miliband "Miliwatt". She added that Miliband's successor, Miatta Fahnbulleh, is "even keener" on refusing new North Sea licences and believes the climate crisis is a "crisis of capitalism".
Krakue concluded that energy policy has been set by people who don't have to worry about the consequences, noting that Miliband has not been sacked but promoted to the Foreign Office.
