The UK is set to import a record amount of electricity in 2024, beating the record set in 2021 by almost 50%.
Analysis of National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) data carried out by the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) has revealed that net electricity imports to Britain hit a new high of 9 TWh in Q1 2024, and imports totalled 14.95 TWh between January and May of this year.
These volumes represent 15% of British electricity, and the NIA forecasts that the country will import almost 36 TWh of power across 2024; an amount 46% higher than 2021’s record of 24.6 TWh.
Most of these imports come from France, which exported 12.7 TWh of power to the UK last year. The majority of this energy comes from nuclear sources; National Grid operates six interconnectors with nuclear from France.
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the NIA said: “Other countries get the jobs, and we get the bill because we have not invested enough in our own nuclear power and other sovereign power sources. That underinvestment leaves us with structurally higher prices than our neighbours, and they are making money off our mistakes.
“The next Government’s drive to net zero means we must start turning that around by approving a raft of new nuclear power stations alongside major renewable investment, so we get the jobs and the energy security for our future.”
An important issue
With oil and gas output in the North Sea declining, the UK will likely become more reliant on imports over the next five years. National Grid ESO’s Summer Outlook report for this year has forecasted that the UK will rely significantly on imports from continental Europe this summer, predicting that the UK will be a net importer of energy this year.
The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a climate think tank, has called on the new UK government to do more to support renewables development in the UK and thus reduce British reliance on imported energy.
Interestingly, research has found that households which use greener technologies, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles (EVs), use less than half the amount of imported energy than households without these kinds of green tech.
The new Labour government has committed to expanding the presence of renewable energy in the UK’s power system, with several significant policies being announced in the few days since coming into power.
On July 9, the new Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, announced that he had appointed former head of the Climate Change Committee Chris Stark as the head of a new “Mission Control” body seeking to move the UK towards clean energy by 2030.
Meanwhile, Labour has removed the de facto ban on onshore wind, and prior to the election now-Prime Minister Kier Starmer announced his intention to make the UK a “world leader” in floating offshore wind, as well as increase the country’s onshore wind capacity to 35 GW by 2030, and boost offshore wind capacity to 55 GW.
However, climate think tank Ember has warned that the UK government must make urgent reforms to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) system before the next auction round on August 1st if there is any chance of meeting these targets. Last year’s AR5 CfD auction failed to attract any offshore wind bids, leaving a 22 GW capacity shortfall that must be filled by 2030 to meet targets.
