National Grid warns that the UK could be almost entirely dependent on gas imports by 2040
Nearly all Britain’s gas supply may come from abroad by 2040 if there is not enough investment in the domestic sector a report by the National Grid said today.
Britain currently imports about 50 per cent of its gas needs, but this could rise to 93 per cent by 2040 under one of the report’s four "Future Energy" scenarios. The scenario combines a greater focus towards “green ambition” with lower macro-economic prosperity assumptions.
Under an alternative scenario entitled “Consumer Power”, gas imports could be reduced to 30 per cent by the same date.
But this could only be achieved through government intervention to encourage new methods of gas extraction including shale.
While all of the National Grid scenarios assumed an end of coal-fired power stations in the UK by 2025, the report described the 2020 Renewable Energy Target Directive as “very challenging” for the UK to meet. The Directive stipulates that 15 per cent of the UK’s energy consumption should come from renewable sources.