Government criticised for slow energy upgrades

A report from the Lords Committee has warned the government is in danger of missing clean power targets if it doesn’t increase the pace of building energy generation infrastructure and upgrading the grid.

The Committee began its inquiry in January to examine the barriers to delivering grid infrastructure and highlighted in the summer that planning delays, resource shortages and regulatory barriers are holding back progress.

Kelly Becker, Schneider Electric’s president, UK and Ireland, Belgium and Netherlands, believes urgent grid investment and energy efficiency measures are critical in order to accelerate progress.

“Achieving the UK’s Clean Power 2030 goals requires bold leadership and a coordinated approach to maximising renewable energy,” she said. “This begins with urgent investment in grid infrastructure – both transmission and distribution – to ensure a robust and reliable supply of clean energy to accelerate electrification across sectors.

“Progress must be underpinned by prioritising planning reform and regulatory changes, making our targets achievable in both the short and long term.

“At the same time, we must improve energy efficiency to alleviate pressure on the grid. The technologies to enable this transition are already available – it is now a matter of deploying them at scale.

“A forward-looking industrial strategy should clearly articulate these priorities and provide a comprehensive, actionable roadmap for end-to-end support across the supply chain. Targeted measures are essential to reduce electricity costs and incentivise the adoption of clean energy technologies.”