Chris McDonald, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, reiterated his government’s plans to decarbonise its energy grid by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
McDonald said the targets were “achievable”, and the country was “well on its way” to meeting them but they still required a major upgrade to the grid.
“The strain on the grid and the level of investment that’s required in the grid over the next decade is unprecedented,” he said. “It’s going to be a massive national effort.” He pointed to a report earlier this month from National Energy Systems Operation (NESO), a new publicly owned grid operator.
NESO’s report said the government’s 2030 aim was achievable but necessitated large increases in renewable capacity, including up to 20 GW more offshore wind, 14 GW more onshore wind and a 32 GW increase in solar capacity.
McDonald said the UK’s energy security ambitions would “not be achieved by the energy industry alone”. The government’s plans also required “changes to planning regulations” and significant international investment, the latter of which he said was already underway across parts of the country.
