The dependence on renewable energy is a major problem
As the lights start going off around Europe this summer, there is every chance the same could happen here. Last month parts of London came very close to a blackout. As temperatures soared, electricity demand surged, and the National Grid experienced bottlenecks. The blackout was only avoided by paying a record-breaking £9,724.54 per megawatt hour to persuade Belgium to send more energy via interconnectors. This was 5,000% higher than the typical price paid. While the causes of this particular incident were idiosyncratic, it raises issues that could prove important this coming winter as Europe faces down an energy crisis.
Britain’s reliance on interconnectors — that is, high-voltage cables that connect our energy grid to those of other countries — is the result of the move away from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels, whatever their faults, are extremely reliable.
