UK report criticises focus on renewable energy

Dec 12, 2011 - The focus of the UK government on renewable energy is "misguided" and current policies will result in an energy crisis by the middle of the present decade, according to a report published today by the Adam Smith Institute and Scientific Alliance.

The report claims that since the renewable sources of energy are intermittent, they cannot be a substitute for gas, coal and nuclear electricity generation.

Solar and wind power hold no chance of achieving economic competitiveness in an unrigged market, while government intervention will push up energy costs and put energy security at risk, according to the study entitled "Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage?". The report further says that wind and solar energy do not contribute much to bringing down carbon emissions as due to their intermittent character they need significant back-up capacity.

Given that most of Britain's coal-based capacity and almost all of its existing nuclear capacity is to be decommissioned over the next 10 years, energy security has become a top-agenda issue for policymakers together with cutting carbon dioxide emissions, the study says. According to it, the 2020 renewable energy roadmap is overambitious, and nuclear and gas are the most suitable energy sources to stave off a capacity crisis in the near term.

One of the authors of the report, Martin Livermore, says: "For too long, we have been told that heavy investment in uneconomic renewable energy was not only necessary but would provide a secure future electricity supply. The facts actually show that current renewables technologies are incapable of making a major contribution to energy security and – despite claims to the contrary – have only limited potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions."

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