UK’s energy security strategy.

The UK Government has published its plans for increasing domestic energy production, to broad criticisms from the UK’s green economy. Here, edie pulls out the key inclusions and puts them into context.

The Energy Security Strategy was originally promised in mid-March but was finally published on Thursday (7 April). It is the first policy update of its kind in a decade and intends to deliver a response to the energy price crisis, which began last summer but has been exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Whether it provides any short-term relief for billpayers or truly builds in resilience in the long-term is a question that many in the sustainability space are questioning. While new targets on offshore wind, nuclear and green hydrogen have been broadly welcomed, the general consensus is that major opportunities were missed regarding energy efficiency, onshore wind and solar.

Questions were also raised about the fact that the Strategy, in the first instance, didn’t detail much in the way of additional funding. The lack of new grants, loans and subsidies did not go unnoticed, following reports that the Treasury was reluctant to provide new funding in a range of areas. However, the Government has today (8 April) announced a £375m package to support some of the less mature technologies detailed in the strategy – namely carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen and next-gen nuclear.

In this article, we summarise the key changes set to come about under the Strategy and information about how these policy choices build on the measures already announced by the Conservative Government.  Read more…

From renewables to fossil fuels: Everything you need to know about the UK’s Energy Security Strategy