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The UK faces a supply gap of up to 55 per cent, as a spate of nuclear power plant closures and the loss of coal by 2025 limit the amount of base-load generation available, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has warned.
A report by the group – Engineering the UK Electricity Gap – said the government’s policy to close all coal-fired power stations by 2025, along with the retirement of most of Britain’s ageing nuclear fleet and growing demand for power, could leave a supply gap of between 40 and 55 per cent, “depending on wind levels”.
IMechE’s head of energy and environment, and the report’s lead author, Jenifer Baxter, said under current policy it is “almost impossible” for UK electricity demand to be met by 2025.
The government must review potential new capacity in the supply chain to ensure that the “most likely” projects are constructed, the report warned.
It also recommended that the National Infrastructure Commission examine the incentives for industry and the public to reduce their demand for power.
The group said current plans to plug the gap by building combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants are “unrealistic”, as the UK would need to build 30 in the space of 10 years. It said the country has neither the resources nor the skilled workforce needed to build them quickly enough.
Nuclear power will not be Britain’s saviour either, according to IMechE, as none of the plants currently proposed are set to be operational until after 2025, with the exception of Hinkley Point C.
Instead, the UK will be left increasingly reliant on electricity imported through interconnectors from Scandinavia and the rest of Europe which, the report said, will lead to higher energy costs and less energy security.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has demanded “clear leadership and stable energy policy” from government to ensure get the investment needed to address the looming supply crunch.
In an open letter, business leaders insisted said the government must look at technologies to help store electricity and manage peak-time demand, and support the development of new gas and nuclear capacity to help underpin our power grid.
The group said UK firms “already pay higher electricity costs than EU competitors” and that “spare capacity on our grid is getting squeezed as we phase out older power stations”.
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