New analysis puts the government behind schedule for solar and wind generation. But solutions are out there.
The latest projections from energy research company Cornwall Insight state that the UK government is well behind its targets for solar and wind power generation, which is part of its plan to decarbonise the power grid by 2030. This is bad news for the new Labour government and its flagship energy policy, but help could be at hand in the form of suggestions by the Climate Change Committee. In this article, we’ll look in more detail at Cornwall Insight’s figures and the CCC’s list of solutions.
Significant shortfall in solar and wind generation
According to industry experts, to decarbonise the UK’s electricity system by 2030, the UK needs to get 67% of its power from wind and solar. However, Cornwall Insight’s recent figures put the country on schedule to get to just 44% by that time.
While the government has plans to double onshore wind capacity, triple solar power, and quadruple offshore wind power generation, this will not be enough to reach the target, meaning that a much greater investment is needed. Cornwall’s analysis forecasts that the government would need to find an extra £48 billion (on top of £18 billion already pledged) to meet their targets. In addition, Cornwall believes the government has not given enough thought to other necessary infrastructure, including grid connections and storage capacity.
The government believes its targets are still achievable, pledging to carry on with its reforms of renewable energy policy, which began with lifting the de facto ban on new onshore wind projects soon after coming to power. However, industry experts are beginning to doubt that decarbonising the grid by 2030 is possible, preferring a target of the mid-2030s instead.
What can be done?
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) is the watchdog body for the UK’s climate efforts. Its latest progress report offers the government some much-needed encouragement, painting less of a gloomy picture than the Cornwall Insights analysis. While the CCC acknowledges there is a lot of work to be done, it believes the targets are achievable if the government takes decisive action, and praises its reforms so far.
The centrepiece of the CCC report is ten priority actions to get the energy industry back on track to hit its decarbonisation targets. These are:
- Driving down the price of electricity by removing policy costs from bills
- Reinstating policies that were recently abolished, such as the proposed phase-outs of fossil fuel-powered cars, vans and boilers
- Removing planning obstacles for onshore wind projects, heat pumps and EV charging points
- Delivering a plan to decarbonise public sector buildings
- Ensuring the next set of renewable energy contract auctions provide at least 50GW of onshore wind capacity by 2030
- Increasing the proportion of industrial heat from electricity
- Planting more trees
- Creating business models for engineered removals on a larger scale
- Supporting skills in the renewable energy sector
- Setting clearer objectives around adapting the country to new forms of energy
A wake-up call
The two reports from Cornwall Insights and the CCC are significant because they show that two independent bodies are concerned that the government is well behind schedule to hit its targets. Both reports state that much more needs to be done, but they are different in the solutions they propose.
While the new government is reluctant to admit its flagship energy policy is unlikely to be ready by 2030, you have to hope that away from the spotlight, they take these two reports on board and change their approach. Bold, ambitious moves are needed, but does the government have the political will – and the budgets – to make them happen? We will need to wait and see.