Great Britain: A Plea for a No-Regrets Energy Policy

By Paul Gipe

Catherine Mitchell launches a series of articles on designing a “no-regrets” energy policy that is as much a plea for sanity in Great Britain as it is an explanation why no resource is 100% reliable.

From afar, Britain’s policy moves are dumfounding. As the world turns increasingly toward more flexible energy systems with increasing amounts of renewables, British policy is like an old silent movie where the audience sits on the edge of their seat watching as a train speeds down the track toward the river crossing where the bridge has been swept away. The wreck is inevitable and the audience wants to scream, “stop”. Of course, the engineer can’t hear them, and drives the train to destruction.

Mitchell, one of Britain’s preeminent energy policy scholars, outlines how Britain can change tracks and avert catastrophe. If anyone can hear her, the question remains will they listen before it’s too late.