With only 5.2 years left of oil, 4.5 years of coal and 3 years of our own gas, is Britain in serious need to generate energy on its own soil?
According to a report by the Global Sustainability Institute the answer is a resounding yes, the Institute also say Britain must look at alternative power sources such as renewable power e.g. solar, wind and tidal.
If action is not taken and the shortages increase heads will turn towards Norway, Qatar and Russia – which has over 50 years of oil and 500 years of coal.
However, the government disagree and have rubbished the report saying Britain has a stable supply of imported energy. This, along with our own reserves, makes us one of the leading global countries on energy security they believe.
But with the Conservatives already declaring that there will be no funding for new onshore wind farms if they win the general election in 2015 and recent government cuts to large-scale solar energy is enough being done to safeguard future supplies?
Hope lies in Britain’s supplies of shale gas, which is extracted via the fracking process, it is estimated that there is enough shale in northern England to supply the UK’s gas needs for at least 40 years. Government ministers are also in the process of trying to export more gas from the USA and researching more potential oil supplies in the North Sea. According to them Britain is focusing on increasing homegrown clean energy, including nuclear, renewables and carbon capture and storage as well as looking to exports.