I do share Annemarie's concerns regarding UK grid capacity and its resilience to unforseen problems. It is absolutely true that politics has the leading say, and the technical competence of many politicians is stretched in understanding that the wind farms they are so obsessed with won't work if its not windy. The determination to shut down coal fired plants is based solely on environmental targets. UK can experience very calm but cold winter weather and I believe this could be the highest risk situation. Some interesting data is available here:-
http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/
