Ed Davey: 'Government package will help electro-intensive users at risk' More than half of the world's countries have renewable energy targets, including the most prosperous. If the UK abandoned all its green policies tomorrow, China would continue investing record amounts in renewable technology; France would continue taking chunks out of our world-leading wave and tidal sector; Korea would continue spending 2pc of its GDP on green growth; and our economy would be no better prepared for the challenges ahead.‪‪ Yes, green policies add to energy bills - but nowhere near as much as global rising gas prices. Last year, support for all renewables cost the average household £18 - or 3pc of the average electricity bill. Altogether, the costs of environmental policies, including programmes to improve energy efficiency, accounted for around 7pc of the average duel fuel bill. But these costs are dwarfed by the impact of fossil fuel price volatility. Wholesale energy costs make up around half the average bill, and the wholesale price of gas and electricity for delivery last winter were around 40pc and 20pc higher respectively compared with the year before. In addition, these and other policies deliver efficiency savings and rebates which can reduce the overall impact on their bill and could even deliver significant savings. So what is best for consumers: scrapping green policies and importing more gas, or building a diverse energy system?‪‪ No energy supply is completely reliable, Sizewell B was offline for a period in 2010 Businesses face different energy costs, and we are sensitive to the needs of the most energy intensive users. No-one wishes to drive industries overseas or simply outsource emissions. That is why, as Ms Lea notes, the Government is working with energy intensive industries to draw up a package of financial support.‪‪ Green policies currently add between 3pc and 12pc to the energy bills of the most energy intensive industries. The UK ranks well internationally for industrial gas prices, with the lowest prices in the EU 15 since mid-2009. And while it ranks less well internationally for industrial electricity prices, the Government's package of support will be designed to help those electro-intensive users whose international competitiveness is most at risk. Why have other countries managed to cope with volatile wholesale prices? ‪‪Perhaps one answer is that their energy systems are more diverse. The reason we are starting from a "crucially low base" on renewables is that we are so far behind: Germany will get 35pc of its electricity from renewables by the end of this decade. And our target isn't just about emissions; it's also about building an energy mix that can iron out price volatility, ensure security of supply, and bring on new technologies. Our current reforms to encourage low-carbon energy will reduce the UK's exposure to oil and gas price shocks by 30pc in the next eight years.‪‪ Nor does Ms Lea's analysis of levelised cost figures reflect the falling cost of immature technologies. The price of wind turbines has more than halved since 1984; the offshore wind industry expect to cut costs by a third by 2020. ‪‪There is a bigger strategic point here. As Lord Browne, formerly of BP, said in a report for the Royal Academy of Engineering: "the government supported the oil and gas supply chain in its early days: with generous tax incentives; training programmes; strategic infrastructure; and supportive regulation... [the result] is a valuable economic legacy, which was accelerated by early government support, and which can now be repeated for offshore wind." This is about getting ahead and ensuring our economy can compete in a sector of strategic national importance.‪‪ Debate: 'The Government needs to radically re-think energy policies' It is also worth remembering that wind power is not unreliable, it is intermittent. There is a difference: modern energy systems can cope with such intermittency. They do it every day, and it is not hugely expensive. According to the National Grid, when balancing out intermittent generation, they use the "most cost effective" generation -most likely combined cycle gas turbines, which Ms Lea describes as "efficient and flexible."‪‪Imperial College estimate that intermittency generally makes up less than 10pc of generation costs, and the cost of balancing is less than £9/MWh. Furthermore, far from being hidden, we take the cost of balancing intermittency into account when evaluating the impact of our policies for different renewable technologies.‪‪ Of course, no energy source is perfectly reliable: Sizewell B, Britain's newest nuclear power station, was offline for four consecutive months in 2010. As it happens, wind power helped fill the gap, providing enough energy to power a million homes for a year.‪‪ We are determined to meet our legally binding climate change targets in the most cost effective way. It is absolutely proper to focus on the evidence, particularly when costs are passed on to consumers and industry. But if we genuinely want to build a secure, diverse energy system - and an economy that can cope with this century's challenges, not the last - then the folly would be ruling anything out. Visit Statoil: Fuelling the UK to read more about the role natural gas plays within the UK's changing energy landscape