Utility Week

6 | NOVEMBER 2021 | UTILITY WEEK The Month in Review "The UK's path to ending our contribution to climate change will be paved with well-paid jobs, billions in investment and thriving green industries – powering our green industrial revolution across the country." Prime minister Boris Johnson I n the run-up to the UN climate conference in Glas- gow this month, the govern- ment released its long-awaited Net Zero Strategy, alongside a host of other green policy announcements. The Heat and Buildings Strat- egy and the Treasury's Net Zero Review were among the docu- ments published alongside. The flagship Net Zero Strat- egy pledged to look at options, including carbon pricing, to shi- green levy costs from electricity to gas, while announcing £620 million of additional funding to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs). The government expects up to 1.7 million heat pumps could be being deployed per annum by 2035, nearly treble the target in last November's green recovery plan for 600,000 installations of the devices by 2028. The strategy says that when the current gas spikes subside, the government will look at options to shi- or rebalance energy social and environmental policy "away from electricity to gas over this decade". This will include looking at options to expand carbon pricing and remove costs from electricity bills while minimising the impact on the overall level of bills. The biggest single new spending commitment in the strategy is further funding of £620 million for zero-emissions vehicle grants and EV Infra- structure, which will be focused on local on-street residential charging. Other transport announce- ments include a commitment to make the rail network net zero by 2050 and an ambition to remove all diesel-only trains by 2040. The strategy also includes a commitment to review the frequency of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions in a bid to accelerate deployment of wind and solar power. It also backs the deployment of first-of-a-kind power carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) plants and reform of the governance of the entire energy system in a bid to achieving the UK's net-zero ambitions while meeting consumers' needs. In order to meet the emis- sions reduction targets in the Sixth Carbon Budget (CB6), the strategy says all low-carbon power technologies will need to be rolled out "at or close to, their maximum technical limit". Unabated gas generation will be used less frequently in the future, running "only when the system most needs it for security of supply", according to the strategy. However, the document says that waiting for new technolo- gies to emerge before deciding to deploy nuclear and carbon Government sets out net zero vision ahead of COP26 capture-enabled gas power at scale could "put our CB6 and net-zero ambitions at risk". It says: "Over the next decade we need to continue to deploy all known low-carbon technolo- gies at scale to ensure optional- ity is maintained, while develop- ing new options to mitigate delivery risk and reduce costs." For new homes, the strategy says the government will consult on whether to implement its plans to end new gas grid connections or remove the gas distribution networks' duty to connect. It also says the government is considering an "ultimate back- stop date" that all homes meet a net zero minimum energy per- formance standard before 2050, where "cost effective, practical, and affordable". The strategy's headline com- mitments include pledges to work with the grain of consumer behaviour so that no-one will be required to "rip out their existing boiler or scrap their current car", while ensuring that the biggest polluters pay the most for the transition through fair carbon pricing. £60bn a year needed to hit net zero Meanwhile, the Treasury has predicted that the extra private and public sector investment required to achieve net zero emissions will peak at more than £60 billion in 2033. It said the additional expend- iture is expected to boost the low

• Cover