Net zero by 2030 is a stretch, but absolutely doable, provided the energy industry pulls together. Fortunately, it looks like that’s starting to happen.
Last month, we told you about the launch of the National Energy System Operator (NESO). NESO is a new body created to support a nationwide energy strategy, coordinated and integrated across regions, suppliers and other stakeholders, to meet the challenges of climate change, maintain energy security and keep bills as low as possible. It’s a major landmark in the UK’s energy strategy.
One of NESO’s first tasks was analysing the government’s 2030 clean energy targets. It has now completed this analysis. In the report, NESO concluded that although the 2030 targets are ambitious, they are doable. That is, provided the investment and the actions are right.
In this article, we’ll look in more depth at NESO’s report, as well as three new energy initiatives that justify this positive outlook. Let’s get started.
The NESO analysis
NESO’s assessment found that the government’s 2030 clean power target is challenging but achievable. What’s more, it’s doable without increasing costs for consumers or compromising energy security. It will require significant coordination between government departments and private sector investment on an unprecedented scale. But if that can happen, the UK has a good chance of hitting that target.
To meet the 2030 goal, the UK needs to generate and store 210-220GW of energy, so we can produce as much power as we consume. NESO estimates that this requires an investment of £40 billion every year for the next five years, with an additional £60 billion for network infrastructure by 2030. This investment covers improvements that include expanding renewable energy generation and upgrading the national grid.
NESO sees this increase in generation coming from a range of sources, including:
- Reduction of dependency on gas to less than 5% of national consumption
- A 6X increase in demand generation flexibility
- Expanding offshore wind capacity from 15GW to 35GW
- Doubling onshore wind capacity from 13GW to 27GW
- Trebling solar capacity from 15GW to 47GW
- Increasing battery storage capacity from 5GW to 27GW
However, this all needs to happen before 2030, so there is no time to lose. Fortunately, several major renewable projects have recently got the green light. Let’s look at three of them.
New battery and generation project
Statera Energy has just secured £395 million in funding for a record-breaking battery and facility flexible generation project in Thurrock. Thurrock Storage is a 300MW battery energy storage facility. Once it is operational (due to happen before the end of 2024), it will be the largest storage system of its type in the UK, with the capacity to store three times as much energy as its nearest competitor.
The other part of the project, Thurrock Power, is a flexible generation initiative which will boost grid balancing. £251 million of the latest funding round will be put towards its construction.
England’s largest onshore wind farm
A new onshore wind farm in the North West of England is in the planning stage. If it gets the go-ahead, it will be the largest wind farm in England, with a 100MW capacity.
Scout Moor II will be located next to the current Scout Moor wind farm near Rochdale. It’s due to go online before 2030, generating enough wind energy to power more than 100,000 homes in the area, meeting 10% of its energy requirements.
The developer, Cubico Sustainable Investments, believes it will bring major economic benefits to the area, including hundreds of skilled jobs.
UK’s first zonal scale heat network
Getting to the 2030 target requires innovative and ambitious thinking, and it doesn’t come more creative and ambitious than The South Westminster Area Network, or SWAN.
SWAN is a new plan to use waste heat from sources like the River Thames and the London Underground to provide low-cost heating to other buildings in the area. It captures the excess heat from these sources, then distributes it through a network of underground, highly insulated pipes filled with hot water. It’s estimated that this heat could be 40% cheaper than heat pumps, as well as saving 75,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, which is the same as the emissions of 40,000 cars.
Construction is due to start in 2026. Potential customers for this heat could be the Houses of Parliament and the National Gallery.
Positive news
The 2030 clean energy targets are clearly highly ambitious. However, it’s great to see the energy industry at least trying to achieve them. These three new projects are just scratches on the surface of everything that’s currently being planned. Whether the UK hits the target or not, it’s sure to be one of the world’s most renewable-focused nations by 2030. That’s great to see.