Mixing for Self-Sufficiency: British Perspectives on an Energy-Scarce Future

In Britain, the 1970s were marked by growing pessimism towards earlier predictions of the energy abundant future which cheap imported hydrocarbons had held out in the 1960s. Increasing oil price and supply volatility along with strikes by coal miners during the decade’s early years both shook confidence and encouraged a search for a more stable domestic energy mix. A growing coalition of politicians, particularly within the Labour Party, energy civil servants and industrial managers in nationalised industries, along with supportive trade unionists, came to favour national self-sufficiency which would be secured through a diverse energy mix. The exploitation of North Sea oil and gas, along with reversing the drastic cuts to domestic coal capacity from the previous decade, were held as potentially buying time for the civil nuclear project and experimental renewables to reach fruition. Rather than spurring an export boon, the most ardent supporters of self-sufficiency wished to maximise the lifetime of the nascent North Sea industry by limiting supply to meeting domestic needs. This paper traces the development of the energy self-sufficiency position, tracing its roots in concern over the vulnerability of oil imports during the late 1960s and the influence of international current of thoughts surrounding the exhaustive nature of fossil fuels. These stimulated support for basing Britain’s energy future around coal and nuclear and treating gas and oil as precious resources. Furthermore, they also encouraged support for state-led initiatives in innovative technologies including renewable forms such as wind and wave along with measures like the Severn Barrage but also carbon-heavy coal gasification. The triumph of liberalisation and falling energy prices in the 1980s ended the self-sufficiency moment, with its perspective further diminished following a series of energy sector privatisations.