The Energy Transition | King's speech outlines government's clean energy policies.

This week we look at the clean energy policies included within the King's Speech, the Climate Change Committee's 2024 Progress Report, the announcement of a new publicly-owned renewable energy developer in Wales, and more. 

King's Speech includes commitment to clean energy policies

King Charles III has revealed the legislative agenda for the next Parliamentary session in his annual speech to Parliament. The new government will aim to advance over 35 bills, with a strong focus on establishing stability, and a "fundamental mission" to secure economic growth.

The King's Speech confirmed the new government's focus on green policies. The "urgency of the global climate challenge" was acknowledged, with the government said to be "committed to a clean energy transition which will lower energy bills for consumers over time". A cornerstone of these green policies has been confirmed in the Great British Energy Bill, which will create Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company headquartered in Scotland.

Legislation has also been promised which hopes to achieve energy independence and generate investment in energy infrastructure. This is in addition to commitments to support sustainable aviation fuel production (in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill) and improve water quality and regulation (in the Water (Special Measures) Bill).

Director of policy at RenewableUK, Ana Musat, said that the King's Speech "provides a range of welcome measures that are essential for accelerating the energy transition and generating economic growth", and particularly welcomed "the announcement of a Planning and Infrastructure Bill, to ensure that essential infrastructure can be deployed without delay."

Read more about the legislative agenda set out in the King's Speech here.

Climate Change Committee 2024 Progress Report emphasises Labour's opportunity to meet 2030 net zero goal with targeted action

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has presented its 2024 Progress Report to Parliament, which assesses the UK's progress against its climate objectives and outlines 10 priority actions for the government for the remainder of this year.

The report by the independent watchdog highlights the UK's successful track record of emissions reductions, confirming that the UK has achieved its Third Carbon Budget, covering the period 2018 to 2022. The report also confirms that the country's territorial emissions (which excludes emissions from the UK's contribution to international aviation and shipping) are now less than half the levels in 1990.

However, the report highlights the need for action to meet the UK's target to reduce emissions in 2030 by 68% against 1990 levels. This target was set by the UK in line with its net zero trajectory and the commitments made under the Paris Agreement. Despite significant emissions reductions in 2023, the report found only a third of the emissions reductions required to meet the 2030 target to be currently supported by "credible plans".

To achieve the 2030 target, the report concludes that the rollout of low-carbon technology must increase substantially. The report states that the rate of annual installation of solar projects must increase fivefold, installation of offshore wind projects must treble, and installation of onshore wind needs to double. 10% of UK homes will also need to be heated by heat pumps (compared to 1% currently) and the market share of electric cars will need to increase from 16.5% to nearly 100%.

The report notes that these targets are attainable. The following are among the 10 suggested priority actions in 2024 in order for the targets to be achieved:

• Making electricity cheaper by removing policy costs from electricity prices.
• Reversing recent policy rollbacks, including reinstatement of the proposed 2030 prohibition on new fossil-fuel car and van sales.
• Removing planning barriers for heat pumps, electric vehicle charge points and onshore wind.
• Introducing a comprehensive programme for decarbonisation of public sector buildings.

Interim chair of the CCC, Piers Forster, said: "The country’s 2030 emissions reduction target is at risk. The new government has an opportunity to course-correct, but it will need to be done as a matter of urgency to make up for lost time. They are off to a good start."

New publicly-owned renewable energy developer for Wales announced  

In a recent press release, Welsh economy secretary, Jeremy Miles, announced the official launch of a new publicly owned renewable energy developer for Wales – Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru. According to the Welsh government, the company has been established to "accelerate the development of renewable energy projects, particularly onshore wind, on the wider Welsh public estate and maximise their value for the people of Wales". Headquartered in Merthyr Tydfil, the new developer will work closely alongside Natural Resource Wales to develop onshore wind farms on the Welsh woodland estate and plans to begin engagement as soon as possible.

The new announcement comes days after the UK government lifted the de facto ban on new onshore wind developments (as discussed here), and coincides with publication of the Welsh Government's cross-Government Heat Strategy. This strategy sets out a roadmap for decarbonising the heating of homes, commercial properties and industry as part of the Welsh government's net zero commitments. UK Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, has been vocal in his support for the project, stating that the people of Wales "will benefit hugely from the sustainable, homegrown clean power from Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru".

The company will be headed up by Richard Evans, Trydan's chief executive. The Trydan team aim to begin engaging with communities near initial sites at the earliest opportunity.

UK far exceeding power import records in 2024

The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) has reported that the UK is exceeding its previous imported electricity record, with current predictions showing that the level of imports in 2024 will be nearly 50% higher than the previous record set in 2021. The National Grid Electricity System Operator data shows that Great Britain imported a record 9 TWh in Q1 of 2024.

The NIA reports that the net imports have accounted for 15% of Great British power, which roughly equates to the usage across 10.08 million homes. The total expected import of electricity predicted for Great Britian this year is 36 TWh, which is higher than both planned outputs from Hinkley Point C (25 TWh) and the planned Wylfa Newydd power station (22 TWh). Great Britian receives most of its imported electricity from France and Norway, with most of the energy produced by nuclear and hydro power respectively.

Chief Executive of the NIA, Tom Greatrex said that the data shows the UK needs further investment in domestic generation, 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".

National Grid narrows its approach to achieving net zero via three "pathways"

National Grid Electricity System Operator (the ESO) has published a report which sets out three "pathways" to net zero along with a fourth route that explores a scenario in which net zero targets would fail to be achieved. The pathways envisioned by the ESO are as follows:

• "Holistic Transition" – which envisages meeting net zero targets through a combination of electrification and the use of hydrogen (mainly in industrial clusters). This would also involve engaged consumers with smart homes and electric vehicles (EVs), which provide flexibility to the grid.
• "Electric Engagement" – which would see net zero being met through electrified demand, engaging consumers through smart technology such as heat pumps and EVs.
• "Hydrogen Evolution" – which envisages meeting net zero through accelerated production and use of hydrogen, mainly in industry and heat. This will have lower levels of consumer engagement, but would include high uptake of hydrogen boilers and increased energy efficiency.

All three of the above routes would meet net zero by 2050, with the former two pathways requiring significant increases in renewable capacity. The key message set out in the report is that within the next two years, decisive action is required regarding the path to net zero. If one of the pathways is not followed, the ESO put forward a "counterfactual" scenario which provides a warning in which net zero ambitions would not be realised due to a heavy reliance on gas across sectors, despite some progress in decarbonisation and EVs displacing internal combustion engine vehicles.

The ESO suggests eight key actions to deliver the change required to achieve net zero by 2050, including:

• A strategic approach to network investment, and introduction of planning reform.
• Prioritising hydrogen use cases in hard-to-electrify industries.
• Accelerating the development of long duration energy storage and reforming the connections process to facilitate its delivery.

The report moves on from the previous scenarios approach (which explored a wider range of outcomes) to emphasise the importance of decisive action to achieve net zero by 2050. Regen, a provider of energy expertise and market insight, has welcomed the shift away from "broad scenarios to aid planning towards a clearer central pathway".

This article was written with the assistance of Khushal Thobhani, Jessica Sawford, Hannah Bradley, Charlotte D'Arcy and Luke Hopper, Trainee Solicitors.