Power

Emissions from the power sector represent 11 per cent of UK carbon emissions

11%

Priority for 2021

Introduce legislation to phase out unabated natural gas for power by 2035, alongside new ambitious targets for increasing renewable capacity.

Positive Following a consultation, the date to end coal generated electricity has

been moved forward by a year to October 2024. This move will strengthen the UK’s global leadership position on coal, although its scope is limited in that it only relates to unabated coal-fired electricity generation. The UK is lagging behind EU countries in trialling coal-free steelmaking techniques and has not ruled out metallurgical coal mining in Cumbria.

The government has published updates on the proposed business

models for carbon capture and storage (CCS). These set out the support that will be available for CCS use in power, transport and storage, and industrial carbon capture, with the intention of kickstarting private investment. The next step for the government will be to scrutinise the business models rigorously to ensure they are good value for money, decide how they will be funded and what the overall spending budget will be.

The government and Ofgem have jointly published the smart systems

and flexibility plan 2021 replacing an increasingly outdated 2016 version. The plan should allow the UK to make better use of its energy resources and is accompanied by consultations designed to overcome barriers to the use of vehicles for electricity storage and deployment of large scale, long term storage technologies. Ofgem and the government are also consulting on the creation of a new energy system operator that is better able to deliver net zero transition, and Ofgem is seeking views on plans to facilitate new connections to the grid for the electrification of heat and transport, however these plans could place extra charges on small, distributed generators.