At the end of last month, Spain, Portugal, and parts of France experienced a massive power outage. The blackout was likely caused by a reliance on non-dispatchable “renewable” energy sources, making the grid fragile and unable to handle sudden disruptions. Now, official reports are warning that Ed Miliband’s push for net zero risks the UK experiencing the same.
Unlike the Iberian Peninsula, where the electricity grid was restored within 24 hours, government officials have admitted it would take Britain “several months” to fully recover from a nationwide electricity outage.
In a March 2024 report, the National System Energy Operator (“NESO”) raised concerns that the switch from dependable gas to intermittent wind and solar power as part of Ed Miliband’s net zero push will reduce network stability and increase the risk of power outages in Britain.
NESO has also warned that the cost to taxpayers of funding measures to prevent the system crashing is set to increase significantly to £1 billion a year, citing the need for large investments in stability network services, such as mass battery storage, to back up the system.
In a report published in April, the International Energy Agency (“IEA”) also sounded the alarm over switching too quickly to renewables and the potential for severe frequency deviations and equipment damage.
In a briefing note circulated to delegates who attended an energy security summit hosted in London by Miliband, IEA warned of the premature retirement of gas power plants without adequate replacements, stating that energy systems face vulnerabilities from this approach and that systemic challenges will emerge from balancing mismatches between supply availability and demand in renewable-dominated power systems.
Even though experts have cast doubt on whether Ed Miliband’s target can be safely reached, Miliband has pledged to decarbonise Britain’s electricity network by 2030. The plan requires a huge shift to renewable energy and will make the UK one of the fastest adopters of net zero in the world.
The UK’s pursuit of net zero could potentially lead to months-long blackouts, causing significant disruption to public services, businesses and households, as well as loss of life, with all consumers without backup generators losing their mains electricity supply instantaneously and without warning.
Government officials have admitted that it would take Britain several months to fully recover from a nationwide electricity outage, which could have devastating effects, despite ministers playing down the prospect of such a blackout happening in the UK.
Big companies are now increasingly installing their own gas-fuelled electricity generators amid concerns over the reliability of the electricity grid. Major suppliers have reported a surge in requests from businesses, including data centres, wanting their own on-site power plants, The Telegraph said.
A former head of energy strategy for the Civil Service said the trend “represents a material risk to [the] Government’s clean power plans.”
Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, said: “With Ed Miliband in power, today it’s Spain but tomorrow it could be the UK. We have said all along Red Ed’s mad dash to net zero will jeopardise our energy security, economic security and national security. And this shows we are right. Kemi Badenoch has called time on net zero by 2050. Labour must listen to us and change course before it’s too late.”
There is no climate change crisis; there’s a crisis of corrupted politicians and institutions
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