UK facing blackouts by 2016?
According to the BBC, David MacKay (who will be the government’s new energy advisor) has warned that if we don’t step up our conversion to greener energy, we will start facing blackouts when we phase out coal and nuclear power stations.
I’m not really sure of the veracity of this story and it could simply be a piece of ‘Flat Earth News‘. I doubt the Government would allow the phasing out of the plants if it would lead to significant blackouts. However hyperbolic the claim, it does contain an important message: we should be switching as far as possible to greener sources of energy. I’m seriously considering investing in putting solar panels on my roof so that in the summer I can start using solar energy instead of energy from the grid. I’m still investigating the possibility.
In the mean time, remember to do the basics: switch off your lights when you’re not using them or when they’re not necessary; do unplug your electronic equipment when you’re not using it and (this is rarely done), do write to your local businesses and MPs and complain about the habit of leaving on lights, signs, televisual equipment etc throughout the night.