The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has published a report that makes over 300 recommendations for the UK Government to fill out its policies over the next year. It acknowledges some ‘bright spots’ but the review of progress has otherwise found that in most areas ‘the likelihood of under-delivery is high’. Key recommendations for the Government regarding electricity supply, include:
- Finalise and deliver the Transport and Storage Regulatory Investment (TRI) business model in 2022, consistent with the Government’s ambition to establish at least two CCS transport and storage clusters in the mid-2020s.
- De-risk the future Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project pipeline by launching the next cluster selection process in 2022, consistent with the Government’s ambition to enable final investment decisions (FIDs) on Track 2 projects from 2024.
- Publish a comprehensive long-term strategy for achieving 95% low-carbon electricity (LCE) by 2030, on the path to full decarbonisation by 2035. Ensure this sets out how the low-carbon flexibility options required to replace unabated gas by 2035 will be delivered, and identifies contingencies for addressing key risks (e.g. nuclear, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage).
- Publish a strategic framework identifying the network requirements for Net Zero, and the changes needed to ensure investments in resilient infrastructure are identified, planned, consented and built in sufficient time to accommodate increased demand and generation.