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Our so-called EU "friends" are willing to turn vital shared infrastructure into political weapons. The case for building energy resilience is overwhelming and mini-nukes should become a cornerstone of our energy policy. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/05/05/french-power-threat-leaves-britain-facing-nuclear-option/
The mere fact that a foreign territory could petulantly flick a switch and plunge part of the British isles into darkness should serve as a wake-up call for the UK and energy policy in a post-Brexit world.
In a bid to drive polluting fossil fuels out of the energy system, the government has piled into renewables with clean power generating more electricity than gas and coal last year, for the first time ever.
But the intermittent nature of wind and solar power forced the UK to obtain increasing amounts of electricity from the EU through a network of giant subsea interconnectors - transmission cables hundreds of miles long that allow electricity to flow from one country to another.
The UK currently has 4 active interconnectors linking it to Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, providing about 7% of the UK’s electricity supply. But this is set to increase dramatically in the future plans.
There are plans for at least 10 more, including a 150mile cable between Lovedean in Hampshire and Normandy costing £1.1bn that will provide another 5% of our energy needs. The North Sea Network (NSN) interconnector will provide green electricity from Norwegian hydropower stations
Every modern country needs backup power but if our "friends" are willing to turn vital shared infrastructure into political weapons then the case for building energy resilience has never been more pressing.
New nuclear is the obvious alternative.
New nuclear is the obvious alternative.
For too long attempts to establish a modern nuclear power capability have floundered amid spiralling costs, opposition from green campaigners, and the geopolitical nightmare that comes with financing construction with Chinese money and Beijing’s untested technology.
That leaves mini-nukes, a technology where Rolls-Royce already excels. They are more modern, cheaper, and greener than old nuclear power and could become a genuine export industry with proper investment.
It would also help to revive one of Britain’s most important engineering companies after it was laid low by the sharp downturn in aviation. The case for mini-nukes to become a cornerstone of energy policy is overwhelming.
