Today, Thursday 30 March, the government has unveiled its “ambitious plans to scale up affordable, clean, homegrown power and build thriving green industries” in what has been dubbed as the UK’s ‘Green Day’.
The announcement follows criticism that the flagship Net-Zero strategy failed to deliver the nation’s 2050 climate target, which caused the High Court to order that the UK Government revise its proposals within nine months from July 2022.
Current± lists the ‘Green Day’ announcements below:
- £160 million investment in emerging floating offshore wind – this fund will support port infrastructure projects
- £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen fund – the investment will back new green hydrogen production projects
- Streamlining planning permission for solar and offshore wind – the government has promised to reform the planning process of energy infrastructure (specifically citing solar power and offshore wind) to speed up the process and attract investment
- £380 million to grow UK electric vehicle (EV) charging network – the funding will support the rollout of EV chargepoints throughout the UK
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme – will be extended to 2028
- Support for heat pumps – an Expression of Interest process has been launched and scheme guidance published as part of the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator competition announced in 2022 which will use £270 million of private investments to boost the manufacturing and supply of heat pumps
- Launch of the Great British Insulation Scheme – a rebranded ECO+, this scheme will upgrade 300,00 of the UK’s least energy efficient homes
- Rollout of the first Carbon Capture Usage and Storage clusters – building on the £20 billion Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) funding the investment is designed to showcase the UK’s “world leading commitment” to CCUS.
- Extra £10 billion capacity to boost exports (including clean growth sectors) – the funding will be provided to UK Export Finance
- Invest in EV transition and sustainable aviation fuel – the funding is hoped to build a stable environment for businesses
The statement also included a couple of schemes that have been previously announced; these are:
- £205 million budget for the fifth Contracts for Difference funding round – this was announced by the UK Government on 16 March
- Great British Nuclear (GBN) – originally announced as part of the Spring Budget earlier this month, GBN will be led by Simon Bowen as interim Chair and Gwen Parry-Jones OBE as interim Chief Executive Officer to support new nuclear builds in the race to net zero; the GBN is set to launch a competition to select the best Small Modular Reactor technologies for development by Autumn 2023
“When global energy supplies are disrupted and weaponised by the likes of Putin, we have seen household bills soar and economic growth slow around the world,” said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“We have stepped in to shield people from its worst impacts by helping to pay around half the typical energy bill. But we are also stepping up to power Britain and ensure our energy security in the long term with more affordable, clean energy from Britain, so we can drive down energy prices and grow our economy.
“That’s why we’re driving forward plans to boost renewables, revive nuclear and build new thriving industries like carbon capture, which will in turn create good jobs across the country, provide new opportunities for British businesses at home and abroad, and maintain our world-leading action to reach net zero.”
Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps added: “Access to cheap, abundant and reliable energy provide the foundation stone of a thriving economy with our homes and businesses relying on it to deliver our future prosperity.
“Following our unprecedented cost of living support this winter, which continues, this plan now sets out how we fix this problem in the long term to deliver wholesale UK electricity prices that rank amongst the cheapest in Europe, as we export our green growth expertise to the world.”