The ‘British energy security strategy’ announced on Thursday 7th April 2022 sets out how Great Britain will accelerate homegrown power for greater energy independence. The policy paper aims to build on the Prime Minister’s ‘Ten point plan for a green industrial revolution’, and the ‘Net zero strategy’.
Against rising global energy prices, provoked by surging demand after the pandemic as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the strategy is central to weaning Britain off expensive fossil fuels, which are subject to volatile gas prices set by international markets the UK is unable to control, and boosting homegrown energy for greater energy security in the long-term.
What does this mean for the property industry?
Reacting to the paper, Nick Green, director in the Savills Earth team, comments:
“Today’s announcement shows laudable ambition and overall, is good news for the renewables sector, particularly with the anticipated creation of over 112,000 new jobs (including nuclear). Inevitably there are winners and losers. There remains significant gaps in the strategy that need to be addressed and a need to ensure the roll-out of new initiatives is co-ordinated.
“Offshore wind is a clear winner and the suggestion that the planning rule book is to be re-evaluated and re-written is encouraging and essential if we are to meet the need for significant scale within the timeframe. The same is needed for onshore wind but with no indication in the Paper that this is the intention. New legislation that addresses the climate and nature crises collectively, rather than separately, will be far more effective.
“Solar offers a significant growth opportunity and the UK Government’s ambitions of a five-fold increase in solar deployment by 2035 could require up to 200,000 acres of land dedicated to the technology. Changes to rules to increase delivery of solar on commercial roofspace is also welcome, to increase delivery of clean energy at the point of demand.
“The biggest limitation on the energy market is around access to the grid and there is no mention of it, nor is there a mention of the importance of the role that energy storage will play in managing the flow of electricity around the grid network. We will not be able to speed up the delivery of renewables without addressing problems in the grid network.”
Rob Asquith, Head of National Infrastructure Planning, adds:
“To achieve the scale of ambition in the timeframe - we need to do things differently, whether that be onshore wind, other renewables or nuclear energy.
“The UK Government has emphasised new build nuclear across the sites already identified in National Policy Statements. The challenge with nuclear is the length of time it takes to get the technology approved and through the planning process. The government also needs to look at funding and perhaps the new vogue for Small Modular Reactors will change the calculus.
“The cheapest, greenest, and most secure unit of energy is the one you don’t use and to this end a programme of insulating existing buildings needs to be undertaken. Beyond that, onshore wind and solar are the cheapest, quickest sources and have low technology risk. The strategy commits to review rules for rooftop solar, where thresholds could be increased reflecting improvement in panel efficiencies. However it ignores demand side measures and limits support to onshore wind to community partnerships – allowing local communities to have the final say.
“To deliver the strategy’s ambition on speeding up offshore wind consents, addressing the climate and nature crises in combination is essential. A recent international workshop of global climate and biodiversity science leaders (1) reported both onshore and offshore wind with a positive biodiversity effect, reflecting increased understanding of their effects on the natural world and how to manage or avoid them.”
(1) https://zenodo.org/record/5101125#.Yk6oscjMKUk
View from Scotland –
Alastair Wood, Savills planning director, based in Edinburgh, says:
“Responding to the UK Government announcement, the Scottish Government has reconfirmed that nuclear will not be part of the energy mix north of the border. It has also previously stated that increasing North Sea oil and gas production is not a solution to energy supply concerns in the short-term. Offshore renewables are likely to be the main focus to deliver energy security in Scotland, although there is also a pressing need to ensure grid stability and resolve demand side issues, through battery storage and hydrogen production, for example. Public consultation on the Scottish Government’s Draft National Planning Framework 4 concluded at the end of March. Current Greenbelt and Wild Land designations in that document will need to be revisited if there is to be any significant increase in delivering onshore wind and solar power projects in Scotland.”
To find out more information, please visit the Savills earth page