The UK will lean heavily on offshore wind, solar and batteries under a new plan to clean up the nation’s power system within just five years.
The country shut its last coal-fired power plant at the end of September and aims to largely eliminate gas from its electricity mix by 2030 — though it’ll keep some of those plants online for occasional use when there’s a shortage of clean energy.
The roadmap, published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, sees the UK becoming a net exporter of electricity. It’ll generate enough renewable and nuclear power to cover all of its annual electricity needs by the end of the decade, with gas’ share of total generation declining to below 5%.
To get there, the country will aggressively scale up its renewable energy auction programme. It’ll need to roughly triple offshore wind capacity to 43GW and nearly double onshore wind to 27GW. Solar capacity will also need to triple, to 47GW, and batteries must be ramped up fivefold to 23GW.
Meanwhile, capacity from ‘consumer-led flexibility‘ — where households are paid to reduce their power usage at peak times, or by selling excess energy from their electric vehicle batteries back into the grid — will quadruple to 10GW.
Connecting all of this new generating capacity will require substantial investments in the electricity grid and an overhaul of current permitting processes, which are currently slow and cumbersome, the department says.
“We will undertake an ambitious programme of legislative reform, including through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill,” per the planning document.
Further, authorities will end the ‘first come first served’ system for grid connections — the most viable and impactful projects will be given priority status in the 739GW queue — and will speed up decisions on planning permission by allowing planners to prioritise critical energy infrastructure.
Decarbonising the power system will ultimately protect households from the volatility of the global fossil fuel market, reduce their energy bills, and “reindustrialise Britain with thousands of skilled jobs across the country,” according to the department.
“A new era of clean electricity for our country offers a positive vision of Britain’s future with energy security, lower bills, good jobs, and climate action,” said energy secretary Ed Miliband said. “This can only happen with big, bold change and that is why the government is embarking on the most ambitious reforms to our energy system in generations.
Octopus Energy CEO Greg Jackson said the UK’s notoriously high energy prices stem from “bad rules” that don’t allow developers to build energy facilities in the places they’re needed most, and don’t allow the grid operator to make use of cheap wind when it’s abundant. “So these are positive steps,” he said.
Jonathan Brearley, CEO of the UK’s gas and electricity regulator, Ofgem, said: “The energy crisis underlined exactly why we must end Britain’s reliance on volatile gas markets for electricity generation — only then will we have true energy security for every community, town and city across the UK.”
“Getting to clean power by 2030 is tough but achievable; it will require unprecedented pace by government, industry and regulators,” Brearley added.
In 2024, wind, solar and hydropower will generate a combined 37% of the UK’s electricity, while gas will hold a 30% share, according to modelling by research group Ember.
The UK recently set a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035, compared to 1990 levels.
