There will inevitably be complaints and some details are hazy. But this long-awaited work demonstrates that there’s finally a government in power in London that’s actually serious about the clean power mission.
The UK’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan covers a lot of ground, all in the pursuit of three goals: achieving energy security, spurring new growth industries and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It starts with a precise definition of ‘clean power,’ in keeping with the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) characterization that said clean power should cover 100% of electricity demand by 2030, in a year with average weather conditions.
However, the NESO also left room for unabated gas to pick up the slack during periods of cold, windless and cloudy weather— or dunkelflaute, as Germans call it, specifying that at least 95% of the electricity generated within the country’s borders should come from low-carbon sources.
This had been (unfairly) characterized by much of the media as a U-turn when Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party mentioned the 95% figure in a speech at the start of December, with critics pointing to a policy document that had said the UK would run on “100% clean and cheap power.”
But, as analysts point out, that is consistent with the target for clean power to meet 100% of demand, and Labour’s manifesto referred to a “strategic reserve of gas power.”
Keen eyes may spot a watering down of offshore wind targets to somewhere between 43-50 gigawatts (GW) from the manifesto pledge of 55GW, plus 5GW of floating wind.
As Bloomberg News reported in September, it wasn’t clear Britain needed that much extra electricity in 2030, and I had also noted that even a more conservative target of 50GW looked like a moonshot.
So the revision is expected, and it’s wise that Labour has now specified more flexible target ranges that allow for a variety of scenarios, rather than specific figures.
Some key highlights include reordering the grid connection queue that had often been cited as an enormous hurdle for renewables projects. Currently organized on a first-come, first-served basis, the wait had grown to a decade or longer in some instances.
Though the queue adds up to a whopping 739GW, some projects lack the funding or consent to proceed, which in turn holds up much-needed capacity.
Prioritizing viable projects that meet the country’s strategic needs will be a game-changer.
Communities that are opposed to new infrastructure—whether wind turbines, solar power or pylons—are another enormous challenge for the energy transition.
The plan mentions several ways to appease these NIMBYs, such as consulting on using warehouse rooftops and outdoor car-parks for solar power—taking pressure off the countryside—and reforming the electricity market so communities can benefit from being near clean energy infrastructure that could reduce their electricity bills.
The details have yet to be finalized, so it’s too soon to say how much of an impact that will have (and some communities will surely resist no matter what is offered), but if the transition is going to move as fast as it needs to, taking any sting out of local backlashes will help.
And boy, it’ll have to be fast. Ed Matthew, campaign director at energy and climate think-tank E3G, likened the challenge to the moon mission: “It requires that level of commitment and coordination.”
All elements—renewables, energy storage, electricity market reform, grid upgrades, alterations to planning, demand flexibility—need to happen simultaneously at full blast while, crucially, bringing down the cost of energy bills for consumers.
Each element is complex and difficult in its own right, but ambition shouldn’t be punished. The government expects the framework will spur £40 billion of investment a year, nearly all of it from the private sector. That money is sorely needed after the UK has seen the lowest rates of investment of any G-7 economy for three years in a row.
Some may worry that relying on the private sector is risky, particularly as the clean energy sector may soon be roiled by incoming US president Donald Trump, but Matthew feels that there’s plenty of money out there looking for a home.
There are just a couple of weeks left in 2024. As we close in on the halfway point of the decade, there’s a lot of work to be done —but, finally, we’re seeing the political will to do it. ©Bloomberg
