NESO considers a clean power system in Britain ‘possible’ by 2030

One of the central missions of the new Labour government is to make Britain a clean energy superpower. Its aim with the mission is to cut energy bills for households and businesses, create jobs, and deliver energy security for the country with cheaper, zero-carbon electricity by 2030. NESO was tasked by the government to offer advice on how the mission can be achieved.

In its report, NESO said (84-page / 18.5MB PDF) it “will be hard” to deliver a clean power system in Britain by 2030, but it said it is feasible – so long as a raft of initiatives designed to support that goal are accelerated.

For example, NESO said that while there are enough renewable and cleantech projects in the pipeline to enable a clean power system by 2030, to achieve that outcome, they will need to be deployed at a scale each year up to 2030 that has never been delivered up until now.

A further “material contribution” could also come from getting carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen projects operational by 2030, it added. The government has already pledged major funding to support the commercialisation of such technologies.

NESO further identified the need to accelerate some projects designed to deliver improvements to the electricity network in Britain, including in relation to the expansion of the grid, adding that further major infrastructure works to improve the transmission and distribution networks, as well regulatory reforms to improve grid connection processes, will need to be delivered.

Other measures will also need to be delivered on, including the use of electricity storage solutions and other technologies to, among other things, help provide some demand-side flexibility and enable better energy system planning and monitoring, as well as implementation of energy efficiency measures to reduce overall demand for power.

Energy expert Gareth Phillips of Pinsent Masons said that the rate of progress NESO calls for is unprecedented and that other forecasts cast doubt on whether decarbonisation of power can be achieved as quickly as 2030. He said current procedures and practices within the planning and consenting regime in Britain will need to change if the government is to have any hope of realising its goal of a clean power system by 2030.

"NESO is right to highlight the need for accelerated decision making in planning,” Phillips said. “Over the last few years there has been much talk of this, but despite reform proposals, we've seen no such acceleration; quite the opposite in fact, with many delays to the consenting of energy-related ‘nationally significant infrastructure projects’ (NSIP). For example, the West Burton solar NSIP – a 400MW solar project that has seen multiple delays caused by inefficient processing – has this week suffered another blow, with the development consent decision postponed by over two months until 24 January 2025. Other solar NSIPs have experienced similar delays.”

“Given these are the least complex of energy NSIPs, if consent applications for solar projects cannot be determined expeditiously, there can be little hope for an acceleration of consents for more complex projects, like offshore wind and nuclear, anything like that forecast by NESO. Industry can deliver, but government has to make good promises of faster consenting if it is to meet its own decarbonisation targets,” he said.

Michael Watson, a climate and sustainability adviser at Pinsent Masons, said the need to address constraints and delays relating to grid capacity and connection were also central themes emerging from the report, warning that such reforms cannot be achieved “overnight”.

Watson added. “The scale of the on- and offshore grid required is significant and accelerating that roll out and development, including building the relevant supply chains, is a massive challenge. Significant work is needed too to source and deploy the capital required to make up the £40 billion investment identified by NESO as needed annually to deliver a clean power system by 2030, in the most cost-effective manner for consumers.”

The government has said (3-page / 275KB PDF) it will “set out the path to decarbonise the electricity grid”, within a new clean power 2030 action plan, later this year. It also said that it intends to legislate, when parliamentary time allows, “to ensure connection reform aligns with strategic energy and network plans and supports delivery of clean power by 2030”.