OFGEM report today that UK electricity generation capacity will drop by 10%..
Not this year… but by this April
This is despite several ageing nuclear power stations continuing to run well past their intended life span. George Osbourne’s new dash-for-gas it likely to represent only a short term fix as wholesale prices for imported gas continue to rise. In the meantime even some Tories has described the current policy as “short sighted and costly“.
As we have long argued, the UK needs to rapidly install as much renewable capacity as it possibly can – and quickly. While no one technology holds the answer the simple truth is that we need a lot more of everything – wind, solar, hydro, tidal, biomass just to keep the lights on, let alone to meet our future electricity needs.
UPDPATE (24/02/2013)
The Sunday Express today reports that nearly 1 million homes faced power cuts in January as National Grid scrambled to find enough electricity during the cold weather. The article claims that old power stations (currently due for imminent closure) were bought back on line to make up the shortfall. If the same happens again next year some parts of the UK could face black outs.