News

People power - a realistic solution to britain's energy crisis?

news

“Individual householders becoming little generation plants and selling power back into the system is a wonderfully attractive and seductive idea,” says Professor Dieter Helm, an energy policy expert at Oxford University, who also advises the government. “We would all like to be our own power stations and make money.”
 
But Professor Helm fears this is an idealistic solution. This method of producing energy is extremely expensive because it’s unreliable, so it would need to be backed up by more conventional power sources.

“There is no free lunch when it comes to the energy sector,” explains Professor Helm. “When you generate your own electricity, someone else has to buy it. In the end, other customers pay. Decentralisation is not cost-effective.”

“Consumers selling electricity back to the grid is one of the most costly things you could think of to reduce carbon emissions.”

He also fears the Conservative proposals will fuel inequality. The rich would invest in the fancy kit for their homes, and the poor would end up buying the power they generate.

“Essentially it’s going to be the middle classes that sell the electricity because they can afford the installation. Poorer customers will pick up the bill,” says Professor Helm.

Read the full story and see the video of Dieter Helm on the Channel 4 Website