You can’t rely on renewable energy

DEAR Editor, Without cheap, reliable energy, China, India and Russia will be rubbing their hands with glee, knowing they’ll be suppling our energy for many years to come, and at whatever price they chose. When all the time, the answer is under our feet and in the North Sea. Renewable energy is just not reliable.

At one point last November, energy suppliers were forced to stump up £2,000 per megawatt for electricity – around 40 times the usual wholesale price. Conversely, when it too windy, we are forced to shell out to compensate wind farm owners to turn their turbines off – last year we collectively paid £282 million so called ‘constraint payments’ when the National Grid was unable to absorb all the electricity.

There were times in winter when our wind turbines and solar panels produced next to no power for days on end, yet we only have enough storage capacity to meet 38 minutes worth of national electricity demand.

Because of the relentless drive towards renewables, other costs will also rise. In 2026 oil boilers will be banned, with gas boilers following in 2035. From then on we’re told you’ll need an electric heat pump which initially costs around £10k, and which doesn’t heat your home as effectively and is far more expensive to run. Motorists too will be banned from buying new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, and be told to buy electric vehicles (EVs) which currently cost half as much again.

We’re told these costs may fall. However prices for the rare metals needed for their batteries have recently surged and have already led to one Chinese manufacturer raising the cost of their EVs by a staggering 20%.