Britain Could Be Short on Electricity in a Few Years

From the Daily Express:

Britain is "quite simply running out of power" and blackouts are almost inevitable within the next few years.

This is the stark warning from the head of an energy think-tank who believes power cuts could be serious enough to spark civil disorder.

Campbell Dunford of the respected Renewable Energy Foundation said: "It’s almost too late to do anything about it. Nothing will stop us having to pay very high prices for power in future."

...

The “retirement” of a string of nuclear and coal-fired power stations will see 37 percent of the UK’s generation disappear by 2015, partly because of EU environmental directives.

But here's what caught my eye:

The [REF] report concludes: "A near fatal preoccupation with politically attractive but marginal forms of renewables seems to have caused a blindness towards the weakening of the UK’s power stations and a dangerous and helpless vulnerability to natural gas."

Wow, I'm a bit stunned (and impressed) that a renewable think-tank admitted this conclusion. Hopefully many in the U.S. are watching and taking notes on Britain's experience.

Hat-tip to Eric McErlain!