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Britain Will Need Gas to Avoid Blackouts for Decades as Wind Power Falls Short 71% of the Year, Says National Gas Chief

by Will Jones
23 October 2023 1:10 PM

The man running Britain’s gas network has said the country will need fossil fuels to prevent blackouts for decades to come despite calls for the Government to begin shutting off the pipes. The Telegraph has more.

Jon Butterworth, Chief Executive of National Gas, said a growing reliance on intermittent power sources such as wind and solar meant Britain would be increasingly reliant on gas to make up for shortfalls when renewable energy sources are not generating power.

Mr. Butterworth said: “In 2022, the wind didn’t blow enough or at all for 262 days. And in those 262 days, we would have had rolling blackouts, or a full blackout across the UK if it wasn’t for gas.”

He believes Britain will still need gas to keep the lights on as far out as 2040.

“I actually think we’ll be moving more gas but we’ll be moving gas to power stations to make electricity rather than to homes.”

His conviction comes despite calls for the Government to begin shutting down the gas network as part of the shift to Net Zero.

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), headed by Sir John Armitt, last week called for the U.K.’s domestic gas network to be decommissioned at a cost of £70bn to encourage people to switch to heat pumps and help the country meet its Net Zero targets.

The cost of decommissioning would most likely be added to consumer bills but the NIC argues the policy would help halve domestic energy costs by 2050.

The Government plans to replace the U.K.’s 25 million domestic gas boilers with heat pumps to end our dependence on both gas and global gas prices. That dependence is why energy bills have doubled since 2021.

However, heat pumps need electricity and in a country committing itself to generating most of its power from wind farms, there will be many low wind days when gas is still needed.

Mr. Butterworth foresees a time when millions of ‘green’ heat pumps will be whirring away – but using un-green power produced in gas-fired power stations.  

He said: “That is actually far less efficient than burning gas in your house. Domestic gas boilers are about 90% efficient but the best power station is about 50% efficient.”

Worth reading in full.

Tags: Climate AlarmismFossil fuelsGasNational Infrastructure CommissionNet Zero

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34 Comments
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Annie
Annie
3 years ago

Disgusting, foul, vile, inhuman zombie cruelty.

32
0
beancounter
beancounter
3 years ago
Reply to  Annie

I absolutely agree with you – but I wish you wouldn’t sit on the fence!

9
0
Julian
Julian
3 years ago

If some miracle happens and legally backed restrictions end, the legacy of the madness will last for years as organisations choose to be “cautious”, making life difficult for anyone sane who wants or needs to have anything to do with them. Fine where there is a choice and you can choose organisations that get back to normal, but there will not always be a choice.

The SAGE and govt psychopaths have opened Pandora’s Box and even if they wanted to they could not close it. They may not even have spent any time thinking about the long term societal damage to a society already weighed down by often irrational safetyism.

14
0
Silke David
Silke David
3 years ago

I used to work in a building where our council does marriage ceremonies so I was curious what the rules are. It is quite a small room, so they limited it to 15 people, usually it would hold 36.
The registrars and a photographer are additional, and prams and pushchairs are not allowed (what about wheelchairs or walkers?)
Guests are not allowed to use the on-site toilet facilities, but have to go down the road to the public one in the park.
So silly.

Considering the mother in question here will expect many guests who are one household, the venues insisting on restrictions just shows how scared they are of the extreme unlikely event that something happens or they get snitched on.

Last edited 3 years ago by Silke David
9
0
DoctorCOxford
DoctorCOxford
3 years ago

A list of funeral locations that will follow new guidelines should be made know so people can appropriately send off their loved ones. Hope someone is working on such.

7
0
Sandra Barwick
Sandra Barwick
3 years ago

Well, I used to think our “traveller communities” were a bit out of order in their view of the law.
But they don’t stand for this rubbish. They turn up in thousands at funerals which matter to them, and the police are so outnumbered and intimidated they stand aside.
Time to learn from them.

14
0
Peter W
Peter W
3 years ago
Reply to  Sandra Barwick

Last year in April a well know local died (not of or with Covid).
I can’t remember what the limit was then but very small. Over 200 locals descended on the church! As far as is known there was no super spreader event. Surprise!

2
0
robnicholson
robnicholson
3 years ago

Having had to go through the horrible processing of hand picking 30 people to attend mum’s funeral back in November, I can only sympathise and relate to this.

It’s also causing rifts in friendships in all areas. My birthday on Sunday and the local pub can only accommodate 2 x tables of six in the rain and wind outside. So I’ve had to turn down three dear friends because they didn’t respond fast enough. It’s just horrible. Esp. when there is an empty pub inside and we’ve been Covid free for two months.

2
0
Peter W
Peter W
3 years ago

Spot on.
We can expect a whole range of jobsworths and organisations who will not want to let go of their new-found control and make up all sorts of silly rules to bolster their anti-social sense of self-importance.

2
0

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