Britain is not ready for the goal of fully decarbonizing its electricity system by 2030, claims a new report by the National Energy System Operator, also known as NESO. According to a government-commissioned report, Britain will have to take crucial steps to be able to hit the clean power targets within broader climate commitments. It will be a titanic shift from fossil-based sources to renewable energy sources—sun and wind.
NESO: Threat of urgent drastic reforms, besides simplification of the planning process and avoiding delay in associating new renewable projects with the grid. The report argues that Britain will have to increase offshore wind capacity in the next two years more than it has done in the past six put together, and this means adding 28-35 GW more by 2030. Onshore wind will need to increase by over two-thirds from 13 GW to 27 GW. The capacity of solar is likely to triple from 15 GW to 47 GW.
The report shows that such decarbonization to achieve the 2030 target will require a wide scale of investments and policy changes. Britain can stabilize long-term energy costs and reduce vulnerability to swings in global fossil fuel price swings through rapid expansion in offshore and onshore wind projects, as well as solar energy installations. According to NESO, this can be achieved by shifting Britain into such changes. The volatility in energy prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 calls for a resilient, renewable-based energy system. As such, NESO’s analysis showed that this clean energy system would not increase the costs overall of Britain’s energy framework; it would rather offer protection against future spikes in fossil fuel prices.
The government has acknowledged the scale and urgency of the task, promising to implement whatever planning and grid reforms may be needed to support investors and developers in creating next-generation energy infrastructure. With 2030 looming, Britain’s energy transformation depends on quick action to secure its clean energy future.
Source: Reuters