Surge in renewable power fuels fears of energy crisis

Published on Monday 4 May 2009 21:57

BRITAIN is facing an energy crisis as a rise in renewable power is pushing the "outdated" National Grid to breaking point, experts warned yesterday .

Analysts say the network cannot cope with the extra electricity generated by wind, wave and solar sources.

They fear the increase in renewables will overload a system that was not designed to accept so much incoming power.

Inenco, the UK's largest energy analyst, said Britain could be plunged into darkness unless the infrastructure was updated.

Inenco analyst Ian Parrett said the overhaul could cost the government between 5 billion and 10bn. He said: "The UK's electricity infrastructure is so outdated and expensive that the renewables push towards wind farms and other forms of micro-generation is going to place an impossible strain on the network.

"It was not designed for two-way power generation, where smaller generating sources put energy back into the grid, and this will continue to be the case unless the government invests heavily in upgrading the grid."

He added "This is all in stark contrast to a country like Germany, where not only is the energy supply system a lot more efficient, connecting local energy supplies to it is either free, via government subsidies, or costs just a few thousand pounds."