Government Sets Out Plan For New Era Of Clean Electricity
13th December 2024
Government delivers on the Prime Minister's Plan for Change to build an energy system that can bring down bills for households and businesses for good.
Government delivers on the Prime Minister's Plan for Change to build an energy system that can bring down bills for households and businesses for good.
British households will be better protected from rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets, with plan to unblock the grid, speed up planning decisions and build more renewables to make Britain energy secure with clean power by 2030.
Clean power will unlock £40 billion of investment a year and reindustrialise Britain with thousands of skilled jobs across the country.
Working people will benefit from a new era of clean electricity, as the government today unveils the most ambitious reforms to the country's energy system in a generation, to make Britain energy secure, protect households from energy price spikes, reindustrialise the country with thousands of skilled jobs, and tackle the climate crisis.
In a major milestone to deliver on the Prime Minister's Plan for Change which aims to drive economic growth and rebuild Britain with mission-driven government, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will today (Friday 13 December) set out a detailed plan for achieving the target of clean power by 2030.
The plan will provide the foundation for the UK to build an energy system that can bring down bills for households and businesses for good. The independent National Energy System Operator (NESO) set out pathways to a clean power system in 2030, and confirmed it was deliverable, more secure, and could see a lower cost of electricity, and lower bills.
For too long, there has been no plan for building new energy infrastructure based on an assessment of what the country actually needs for the long term. As a result, billions of pounds of clean energy projects have been held up by a clogged-up planning system, and a dysfunctional power grid queue that means renewables projects cannot get online.
The government will now plan an energy system based on what the country needs. The plan sets out bold measures to get more homegrown clean power to people. These include: cleaning up a dysfunctional grid system by prioritising the most important projects and ending the "first-come-first served" system; speeding up decisions on planning permission by empowering planners to prioritise critical energy infrastructure; and expanding the renewable auction process to stop delays and get more projects connected.
Delivering these reforms will unleash £40 billion a year of mainly private investment in homegrown clean power projects and infrastructure across the country, creating good jobs across the country including engineers, welders and mechanics.
Every family and business in the country has paid the price of Britain's dependence on foreign fossil fuel markets, which was starkly exposed when Putin invaded Ukraine and British energy customers were among the hardest hit in Western Europe, with bills reaching record heights.
The government’s clean power mission is the solution to this crisis; by sprinting to clean, homegrown energy, including renewables and nuclear, the UK can take back control of its energy and protect both family and national finances from fossil fuel price spikes with cleaner, affordable power.
This action plan sets out how the government will build the generation and infrastructure needed to deliver that system. Over this Parliament the government will be working relentlessly to translate the much cheaper wholesale costs of clean power into lower bills for consumers.
It follows the signing on Tuesday this week of the Final Investment Decision for the UK’s first Carbon Capture project in Teesside - delivering thousands of new, skilled jobs in the North East of England. The East Coast Cluster - which will capture and store carbon emissions from industries in the region - is set to start construction in mid-2025. On Thursday, Orsted announced up to £100 million worth of contracts for its Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm, supporting jobs across three supply chain companies in the North of England.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:
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. 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.
The era of clean electricity is about harnessing the power of Britain’s natural resources so we can protect working people from the ravages of global energy markets.
The clean power sprint is the national security, economic security, and social justice fight of our time - and this plan gives us the tools we need to win this fight for the British people.
Greg Jackson, CEO, Octopus:
We welcome the prospect of slashing red tape for grid connections, overturning the onshore wind ban in England and allowing more special offers to slash energy bills. Britain’s high energy prices stem from years of bad rules that don’t allow us to build renewable energy in the places it’s needed, or make use of cheap wind when it’s abundant, so these are positive steps.
Fintan Slye, Chief Executive, NESO:
We welcome the publication of the Government’s Clean Power Action Plan. We are pleased that our independent advice on how Britain can achieve clean power by 2030 has formed such an integral part of the Plan set out by the Government today.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Government, the energy regulator and wider industry to overcome the delivery challenges that we have identified, and unlock the benefits of clean, secure power to consumers, the economy and society as a whole.
Jon Butterworth, CEO of National Gas, said:
National Gas welcomes the Government’s Clean Power Action Plan, which firmly recognises the critical role of the gas transmission system - ensuring a secure transition for households and businesses across the country.
Gas will continue to play an essential role as the nation’s strategic power reserve when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, as demonstrated this week when we saw the need for gas hit a record high - with more gas supplied to power stations than at any point in the last five years.
We are proud to play our role in securing Britain’s energy and unlocking clean power, as the backbone keeping our country’s large gas power stations and heavy industry running.
Energy UK CEO Dhara Vyas said:
The energy industry welcomes the ambition behind the Clean Power Action Plan because it can accelerate the benefits that will be felt by people across the country through increased energy security, investment, growth and job creation.
Meeting the goal however is a formidable challenge and can only happen by tackling barriers and delays that will otherwise jeopardise this ambition and which have been constraining the country’s economic growth for some time.
So we support the need for fundamental changes that speed up the planning process, enable the swift construction of critical infrastructure, cutting the time for grid connections and enabling more homes and more businesses to benefit from the expansion of clean energy far more quickly. A clean power system must also include the necessary expansion of other established and emerging clean technologies, including storage and flexibility.
An undertaking of this scale obviously needs a comprehensive plan so we look forward to reading the detail. We also again underline the need for the clean energy drive to be accompanied by a focus on improving things for customers - not only by increasing our own sources of power to protect them from volatile energy costs, but by putting in place long term, targeted support for households struggling to afford bills, improving the energy efficiency of homes and buildings, and supporting the switch to cleaner and ultimately cheaper ways of heating and travelling.
Darren Davidson, head of Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa in the UK, said:
We are proud to be part of this clean energy mission and to contribute to the growth of renewable technologies in the UK, with this launch at our offshore wind blade factory in Hull today.
Siemens Gamesa has installed over 10 GW of offshore wind in the UK, which is nearly 70% of the UK’s installed wind operational capacity. To date, we have manufactured over 2,300 offshore wind turbine blades at our factory in Hull. We have over 1,300 employees in Hull, after recruiting more than 600 people in the last 12 months. Each worker is playing a vital role in the energy transition.
Shaun Spiers, executive director at Green Alliance, said:
Achieving clean power by 2030 will be genuinely transformational for the UK energy system, good for households and good for the economy. The government’s new plan sets them up to succeed in 2025, a make-or-break year. They rightly focus on getting unprecedented amounts of offshore wind built, and reforming a queuing system for connections to the power grid that had tied up projects until the middle of the 2030s. It will also be vital to engage seriously with communities to win maximum support for this national endeavour.
RenewableUK’s Director of Future Electricity Systems, Barnaby Wharton, said,
The Clean Power Action Plan will be considered a landmark moment for the clean energy sector. Not only do investors have a clear Government target of establishing a lowest cost electricity system dominated by wind and solar, but they now have a roadmap to achieving it.
It’s great to see the plan set out targets for delivering the batteries, network infrastructure, and flexible technologies that will enable the roll out of renewable energy, as well as specific targets for wind and solar farms.
We would encourage the Government to maintain this focus on renewables, collaborating with the sector on industrial strategy to ensure the UK grasps the potential jobs and industrial investment which could come alongside these new clean energy developments.
Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearley 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. We hold cards that others don’t when decoupling from fossil fuels; the world’s geopolitics is uncertain but, thanks to our natural resources, we can protect ourselves by becoming a renewables superpower as part of our wider clean power mix.
Getting to clean power by 2030 is tough but achievable; it will require unprecedented pace by government, industry and regulators. We’re already helping to speed things up and unlock the investment needed by cutting red tape, fast-tracking grid expansion and getting more clean power projects connected. We’re taking a tough line and will hold the industry to account when it comes to the sector delivering on time and on budget.
Ofgem’s job is to protect consumers at every stage so that the transition is achieved at the fastest rate and lowest price possible. The clean power plan makes clear there are tough trade-offs, which is why it’s vital that the government brings the public, businesses and industry with it on every step of the journey. We will review this action plan in detail and set out our next steps early in 2025.
Jess Ralston, Head of Energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said:
The UK has paid the price for over-reliance on expensive gas over the past few years and the crisis is not over yet. Accelerating the rollout of renewables will stabilise prices and clean technology like electric heat pumps will increasingly run off British wind and solar in contrast to gas boilers which will increasingly be run off foreign gas imports. Continuing to accelerate this rollout is the way we will avoid being on the hook for expensive gas in future.
The Energy Crisis Commission concluded that the UK is "dangerously unprepared" for another crisis but reaching clean power will be a significant step towards achieving energy independence. It will also be crucial that Government focusses on fixing up our leaky homes and switching away from gas boilers.
Responding to the government’s Clean Power Action Plan Tania Kumar, Net Zero Director, CBI, said:
Delivering a clean power system is not only fundamental to achieving the UK’s net zero ambitions but crucial to ensuring the competitiveness of our industries and driving economic growth across the economy.
Today’s action plan clearly addresses a number of blockers businesses have long cited from grid connections to planning processes. 2030 is a challenging target for industry – but it is achievable with this type of relentless focus. Ultimately this is a milestone to net zero by 2050.
Achieving a decarbonised economy requires government creating the conditions for investment across decarbonisation technologies and working with business to ensure a plan for whole-economy transition.
John Pettigrew, CEO, National Grid, said:
This is an important next step in the clean energy transition, and a focus on agility and speed of reforms will be key. At National Grid, we remain committed to playing our part in delivering the Government’s plan and working in partnership to ensure a reliable and affordable transition to cleaner energy sources.
Lisa Christie, UK Director of Public and Regulatory Affairs at Vattenfall, said:
It’s very encouraging for energy developers that the Government is doubling down on its net zero commitments. Rebuilding the UK’s energy infrastructure will bring jobs and investment, boost our energy security, and help keep bills lower for consumers.
At Vattenfall we believe the UK’s 2030 clean power target is achievable, but now government and industry need to move at pace to get the job done.
Sue Ferns, Senior Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, said:
Prospect has long been an advocate of a secure, affordable and decarbonised energy system and we strongly welcome the government’s plan to accelerate progress towards this.
To be successful that same spirit of ambition and urgency must be applied to ensuring an adequate supply of skilled workers and a just transition for workers in carbon-intensive industries.
Once this plan is in place we quickly need to also commit to a programme which will sustain progress beyond 2030.
Gus Jaspert, Managing Director Marine, The Crown Estate:
For more than 20 years the UK has led the world in creating the right environment for the growth of offshore renewables, which have become the cornerstone of our energy transition. This Action Plan is an important step towards accelerating the move away from fossil fuels and the deployment of new offshore technologies such as floating offshore wind or carbon capture and storage.
To achieve these ambitious targets, it is more important than ever that we work together to maximise the potential of our marine space, which also means prioritising nature recovery and supporting the many other industries that rely on this vital resource. We welcome this report’s recognition of the role our Marine Delivery Routemap can play in bringing parties together to enable a long-term view of how the seabed can play its part in the delivery of the government’s clean power and growth ambitions.
Lucy Yu, CEO and Founder at Centre for Net Zero, said:
While NESO’s advice to the Government sets out two broad potential pathways to the 2030 target, the Clean Power Plan aims to deliver on a comprehensive basis, keeping all options in play to mitigate uncertainties around cost, speed, and technology risk, while allowing for new opportunities to be leveraged as they arise.
However, we must not forget the central role of consumers and communities in the energy transition. The British public’s support will be key, and the Government must ensure clean power delivery has their interests at heart to keep us on track for 2030 and the critical decades beyond. Here, the promised Low Carbon Flexibility Roadmap and the decision on wholesale market reform can have a pivotal role in lowering bills and attracting private investment for clean energy projects. Many in the industry will feel that both are several years overdue, and strong decision-making and accountability in those areas will spell the difference between success and failure for this critical mission.
The key elements of this national plan include:
Cleaning up the dysfunctional grid
Getting more homegrown clean power connected to the grid by building the necessary infrastructure, prioritising the projects needed for 2030 to connect as much clean power as possible
Over the last five years, the grid connection queue has grown tenfold, and now contains an equivalent capacity of 739 GW. Many of these projects are speculative or do not have the necessary funding or planning permission to progress.
The queue is currently managed on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. To meet the 2030 ambition, action is needed now to rationalise the queue and accelerate the projects that are critical to the goal. This means going beyond previous plans to deprioritise slow-moving or stalled projects and prioritise based on readiness alone.
Instead, this plan will help remove unviable projects, re-order the queue, and accelerate connection timescales for the projects needed most.
Cleaning up the queue will mean crucial infrastructure from housing to gigafactories and data centres can get a connection to the grid, helping to unlock billions of investment and grow the economy.
Prioritising 2030 projects in the planning system
The plan will provide clarity on what the energy mix will look like for 2030 on a national and regional level, including updating the National Policy Statements for energy that guide planners so they have clear direction on the importance of delivering the right amounts of clean power and energy infrastructure for 2030.
The government is also bringing onshore wind back into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime in England - this will make it easier to progress onshore farms larger than 100MW.
The government will bring forward a Planning and Infrastructure Bill with measures to streamline the delivery of critical infrastructure in the planning process.
The government will also ensure communities directly benefit from hosting clean energy infrastructure.
Further reforms to accelerate homegrown clean power:
Expanding the renewable auction process so projects can get funding agreed before their planning permission has been finalised, to stop delays and get more projects online.
Unlocking investment into supply chains, allocating funding from the Clean Industry Bonus, and ensuring that clean power creates good jobs across the country.
Pro-consumer reforms to help households have more choice and access to cheaper energy tariffs, and ensure more consumers can make the choice to save money on their bills by using appliances when electricity is cheaper – for example charging their car overnight and selling excess energy back to the grid.
Additional background:
Accelerating grid connections and building new network infrastructure is central to unblocking over billions of investment in the UK’s clean energy industries and driving growth and job creation in all sectors of the economy, including AI, data centres and manufacturing.
This ambitious plan will help meet the UK’s legally binding climate targets and harness renewable power to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, helping to protect national and household finances from the rollercoaster of international markets.
It follows urgent action already taken to deliver on the mission since July, including lifting the onshore wind ban, establishing Great British Energy, consenting almost 2 GW of nationally significant solar, delivering a record-breaking renewables auction, and kickstarting carbon capture and hydrogen industries.
