UK news

摘要

The UK government's policy to close all coal-fired power stations by 2025, combined with the retirement of the majority of the UK's ageing nuclear fleet and growing electricity demand, will leave the country facing a 40 to 55 percent electricity supply gap, according to the recent 'Engineering the UK Electricity Gap' report from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Plans to plug the gap by building combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants are reported to be unrealistic, as the UK would need to build about 30 new CCGT plants in less than 10 years. Additionally, 20 nuclear sites are listed for decommissioning; this leaves a significant gap to be filled. Jenifer Baxter, head of energy and environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and lead author of the report, said the UK is facing an electricity supply crisis: "As the UK population rises, and with the greater use of electricity in transport and heating, it looks almost certain that electricity demand is going to rise; however, with little or no focus on reducing electricity demand, the retirement of the majority of the country's ageing nuclear fleet, recent proposals to phase out coal-fired power by 2025 and the cut in renewable energy subsidies, the UK is on course to produce even less electricity than it does at the moment.