The power outages that caused chaos in Spain and Portugal this week will happen ‘more and more’ across Europe as the continent increases its reliance on green energy, acclaimed broadcaster Peter Hitchens told the latest episode of the Mail’s Alas Vine & Hitchens podcast.
In conversation with co-host and columnist Sarah Vine, the author issued a grave warning over the gutting of power grids in the service of ‘propaganda’.
Millions were left without power in Spain and Portugal on Monday, with the cause of the sudden blackout yet to be established. Theories range from an unusual power surge to a Russian cyber-attack.
‘This is likely to happen more and more, as we rely on wind and solar power’, Hitchens said.
‘It doesn’t have the same punch in it that nuclear, coal and gas do. An awful lot of people should have protested at how our power system was gutted – believing all the propaganda and allowing this to happen.
‘We shut down coal-fired power stations, which cost billions to build and were still perfectly functional.
Millions were left without power in Spain and Portugal on Monday, with the cause of the sudden blackout yet to be established
Peter Hitchens: ‘This is likely to happen more and more, as we rely on wind and solar power.’ Listen here
‘Did we put those stations on mothballs so, if times change, we can start them back up again? No: What did we do? We blew them all up.
‘It’s ridiculous – we are totally vulnerable.’
Spanish authorities have denied any link between the power cut and their use of sustainable energy sources.
They also refuted claims a cyber-attack was somehow able to shut down large swathes of their electricity grid.
Vine concurred with her co-host, saying it was ‘ridiculous’ how reliant we are on devices that require complex systems to work.
She said: ‘Last week in the UK, they started shutting down the old copper wire telephone system.
‘The plan is, by 2027, it will be completely gone – that’s just madness. If we have a serious energy crisis, which is looking increasingly likely because of the drive to Net Zero or potential hacks, you’re going to need your landline.
Peter Hitchens: ‘An awful lot of people should have protested at how our power system was gutted.’ Listen here
Spanish authorities have denied any link between the power cut and their use of sustainable energy sources
‘You can’t have a separate generator if you live in a terraced house. What are you going to do if you can’t charge your car? It’ll become completely useless.
‘We’ve gone too far in the direction of relying on things that only work if they are plugged in.’
According to Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition, approximately 42.2% of Spain’s electrical generation comes from renewable power sources.
The government has set a goal for this figure to leap to as high as 74% by 2030.
In the UK, renewable energy sources currently account for approximately 47% of the UK’s electricity.
‘We live in a country so completely dominated by dogma’, Hitchens scathed.
Listen to Alas Vine & Hitchens now, with Sarah Vine and Peter Hitchens, wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every Wednesday.
