Comment on IMechE report on UK electricity supply gap
Richard Black comments on report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
By George Smeeton
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Commenting on a report published today (26 January) by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, which claims that closure of UK coal and nuclear plants will create an electricity supply gap of up to 55 percent by 2025, Richard Black, Director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said:
“It’s impossible to take the conclusions of this report seriously given that’s it’s a mere 5 pages long and contains very obvious flaws in both data and methodology.
“For example, they’ve taken electricity use statistics from a single day, they’ve plugged them into an online calculator with no attempt at proper analysis, and assumed that most nuclear power stations will close by 2025 whereas they’re likely to get life extensions.
“So just because it appears to back up the familiar narrative that ‘the lights will go out’, this report really shouldn’t be given house room.
“However, IMechE is correct in pointing to the dearth of active energy policy, particularly on energy efficiency, which the report concludes is the most sensible way to ensure security of supply, decarbonisation and low, stable price.”