UTILITY WEEK | MAY 2022 |
5
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Energy strategy is a
missed opportunity
They say a week is a long time in politics – it turns out it's about a month
long. That was the gap between Boris Johnson's announcement that an Energy
Security Strategy would be published "in the coming days" to its actual arrival at
the start of April.
Anyone hoping the time had been • lled by • eshing out the details of what steps
need to be taken to accelerate the energy transition or how these plans can ease
pressures on bills in the short term, was in for a disappointment.
The 7,000-word pamphlet certainly did contain stretching targets, and its ambi-
tion is absolutely to be welcomed. But, yet again, we have a destination without the
map to get us there.
At least energy is now at the heart of conversations at the highest level of govern-
ment but it feels like the most di‚ cult areas of debate remain unsolved.
Nuclear, o„ shore wind and hydrogen are the clear winners although signi• cant
questions remain about the practicalities of these new targets and the cost of achiev-
ing them.
The real worry with this strategy is its approach to energy e‚ ciency and onshore
wind. Bizarrely, the government chose to open the document with a section on
"immediate support on energy bills", despite having nothing new to say. It goes on
to re-announce measures that have already been criticised for not going far enough,
then makes a few vague references to boosting green mortgages, investing in heat
pumps and o„ ering more advice.
It is genuinely perplexing that government seems so unwilling to support initia-
tives that have unanimous support from those involved in decarbonisation. The
strategy even includes the line "our homes are our castles" – a phrase that can only
have been intended to make draughty rooms seem like our birthright.
Of course a properly funded national energy e‚ ciency rollout would be expen-
sive and complicated. But government cannot endlessly kick the can down the road.
It is a subject we hope to tackle in our new Heat Council (see p18).
When it comes to onshore wind, it would have been better for the government to
say nothing in this strategy. Business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng must
have winced when he saw his attempts to boost onshore wind reduced to a half-
hearted suggestion of developing partnerships with "a limited number of supportive
communities". In fact, BEIS has only committed to consult on this small gesture.
Greater authorities than me give their views in an analysis on p8-10 and point out
that the strategy does at least prove government is not caving in to the net zero crit-
ics. This is true and again I applaud the ambition. But grand plans for 2050 are only
part of the picture. We need solutions that will drive down costs and accelerate net
zero in the 2020s. Where is the strategy for that?
James Wallin, editor, jameswallin@fav-house.com
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Idox
Next-day switching piles pressure
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https://bit.ly/3uXGKJy
Evides
Water – A Key Consideration in
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Letter from the Editor
James Wallin
Neos Networks
The Digital Future of Renewables
report
https://bit.ly/3ie2vx5
