Gas and nuclear plants that could power all UK homes 'on hold A report by EY, the financial services firm, commissioned by industry body EnergyUK, says that there is "a pipeline of projects ready to build enough additional conventional power stations to replace ageing power stations and to power 25m to 30m homes (27GW) over the next decade." Increasing volumes of subsidised, intermittent wind farms make the economics of gas plant tricky, while the influx of cheap coal from America has made the situation worse. Ministers plan a system of subsidies to encourage gas plants to be built but EY says: "Until finalised, investors remain uncertain; meaning that the vast majority of planned gas power stations have not progressed from the drawing board." The report says that private sector investment in the energy sector reached £11.6bn last year but cautions that 2012 may prove to have been an "inflexion point" as the intense public debate over energy policy and delays in projects being built means that "the level and timing of future investments are far from certain." The report, commissioned as the industry faces intense anger over soaring energy bills, said that the sector contributed £102bn of direct and indirect economic value to the country's economy last year.