The REA represents around 500 UK companies & organisations working in renewables and clean tech.

Hutchings’ career includes working at Gemserv, the energy services provider, within Whitehall departments, and with the European Commission, leading climate and environment programmes, including policies to support Britain’s renewables market.  At WWF, the conservation NGO, he was director of advocacy, focusing on improving public policy and environmental governance.

Hutchings also chairs the Green Purposes Company, set up by the government to safeguard the green mission of the Green Investment Bank, following its 2017 sale to Macquarie, the global infrastructure investor.

His immediate priority will be to press the incoming Government to put the energy transition and net zero front and centre of its legislative programme.

In its Manifesto for Government, the REA has urged all UK political parties to promote and commit to policies that support sustainable energy growth, low carbon innovation, and the country’s legally binding net zero carbon emissions targets (see the REA’s Manifesto for Government.

Prior to taking over the chief executive role at the REA, Trevor Hutchings was Partner for Sustainability at international consultants BIP.   His career has been shaped across the public, private and NGO sectors in multiple roles supporting clean energy development, net zero, the environment and climate action.

Trevor Hutchings said: “I take up my role at the REA as the country goes to the polls, and we reach an inflexion point in the journey to a sustainable, low carbon future.

“Net zero is within our grasp and the actions taken by the next administration will determine whether we get the job done.   The businesses that make up the UK clean energy and technology industries – many of whom are our members – have the innovation, skills and expertise to cement the UK’s position as climate leader.”

“But the next Government must take vital steps in providing the policy and fiscal regimes that encourage, rather than deter, investment.  This is crucial in not only addressing the pernicious effects of carbon emissions but also reducing energy bills and providing domestic energy security.”

“While there is a moral imperative to emissions reduction, it is also an enormous opportunity for economic growth and international competitiveness.

“By 2035, jobs in British renewable energy could reach 210,000, while its contribution to the UK economy could double to £46bn. But there’s still much to be done to ensure that clean & green is at the heart of the country’s industrial growth strategy.  We must make sure that UK businesses are not shut out of the low carbon race by policies that fail to compete with the significant investment in clean technology from the US, Europe and China.”

REA chair Martin Wright said: “Trevor’s deep-rooted commitment to the environment and sustainability, combined with his career experience, will be invaluable to the REA.  The UK’s pathway towards net zero has reached yet another critical moment with a new Government soon to be elected. The REA, under Trevor’s leadership, will do everything to ensure that Government, across every department, delivers on its net zero commitments and that it fosters a business environment that can accelerate the growth of the UK renewable and clean tech sectors.”

Martin Wright added: “We are hugely grateful for Nina’s leadership over the past decade.  She strengthened the REA’s voice and influence in government, fostered greater collaboration within the energy industry and during her time as Chief Executive widened the breadth of REA’s membership to more than 500 companies.  We wish her well in the next stage of her career.”

Dr Nina Skorupska said: “I am thrilled that Trevor is succeeding me.  We have achieved so much in the past decade and under his stewardship, the REA will continue to have a major influence within government and an effective voice for its members. I wish Trevor the very best in the future and thank the REA team, past and present, the REA Board and all of the REA’s members for their friendship and the support given to me over the past decade.”

Dr Skorupska is joining the Electricity System Operator and National Grid Distribution as an advisor.  She will retain her non-executive directorship at Royal BAM Group, the construction and energy services company, and her place on the board of Transport for London.

In 2016, she received a CBE for her services to the UK renewable energy sector and for promoting diversity in the energy industry.

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The trade body’s First 100 Days ask list is organised across its five strategic pillars of power and flexibility; circular bioresources; heating & cooling; transport; and other cross topic objectives.

It sets out a comprehensive policy platform, delivering long-term assurances to the clean energy participants, ensuing the UK is once more positioned as a global leader in the energy transition.

Each Strategic Pillar document outlines an overarching objective for the upcoming government, and details a series of steps and policy actions intended for swift implementation and for immediate impact.

In power & flexibility, the REA calls for complete establishment of the National Energy System Operator (NESO), to provide independent advice on delivering an energy system fit for the future.

The incoming government must “turbocharge work streams to overcome constraints on grid capacity”, to be backed by an annual report to Parliament.

Next, D-ESNZ’s long-running Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) must be concluded imminently to identify practical workable options for change. Earlier this year generators & distributors were options due for publication this year.  Market participants must be re-assured with on a sensible timetable for implementation, says the REA.

Ministers must establish too, says the REA, a rolling timetable & budget for Contract for Difference (CfD) auction rounds (ARs) to secure new renewable investment at scale. AR6 due later this year follows last year’s doubling to yearly of the process’s frequency.

Targeted tax breaks for utility-scale solar, wind and thermal must be included in the new Chancellor’s first Budget. Long duration storage needs too a cap-and-floor auction mechanism, replicating new clean generation capacity.

Easier pathways to market for bio-energy CCUS and stronger planning directives from D-HLU favouring clean energy add to the REA list of demands

REA head Dr Nina Skorupska CBE observed: “Our action plan is a comprehensive vision, able to galvanise the sector across multiple technologies. It is no secret the UK’s status as global leader in Net Zero has been called into question.

“We strongly urge the next government to implement the policy steps outlined in the plan, if it is serious about putting the energy transition front and centre of its legislative programme”.

Read the REA’s full list of demands here.

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“The upcoming election is a pivotal moment for the UK” said Rollo Maschietto, public affairs manager of the REA (in full, the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology):

Citing the REA’s 2024 manifesto, Maschietto explained that “tthe next administration will make decisions that will determine whether we meet our Net Zero targets or fall short”.

“The only way to ensure enduring energy security and an affordable energy system is by ending our reliance on volatile imported fossil fuels and moving to renewables and clean technologies, the REA spokesperson insisted.

The trade group  would work to have renewables and the transition to a zero-carbon economy as central topics in the forthcoming election campaign.

The REA is calling on all political parties to present robust, actionable plans that will drive the UK towards a sustainable energy future. It stood to work with all political parties and the future government to implement these plans.

Another trade body, BEAMA, which represents UK makers of power equipment & infrastructure, saw the election as presenting a stark choice for the sector.

“The next government has a simple decision to make”, its head Yselkla Farmer declared.   “Either create an environment for prosperity based on a successful green economy, or drive away billions of pounds of private investment and risk jobs with policy uncertainty and delay”.

Representing over 200 electrical manufacturers and innovators, the lobbyist called on Sunak or his replacement to prioritise:

1. Investing in grid capacity – The UK will need a larger electrical grid to connect the renewable generators, heat pumps, EV charge points, and other low carbon technologies needed to reach Net Zero.
2. Securing the UK energy market, by disconnecting power prices from unstable international gas markets The result would be electricity tariffs suppressed, providing certainty & security for businesses & householders.
3. Levelling the playing field in heating technology– Removing the extra VAT paid by households opting for low carbon heating technologies, would make Net Zero the most affordable choice.
4. Getting Smart Metering right – A more dynamic electricity system, low in carbon, would follow if consumers get access to real time consumption data. Completing Britain’s roll-out of smart meters would the nation doesn’t fall behind our continental neighbours

“Whoever wins the election”, BEAMA’s Farmer added, “they will need to prioritise a stable policy environment. Clarity from the government allows the innovative, high-impact solutions from industry, tackle the structural challenges in building a low cost, low carbon and secure energy system.”

For business energy supplier nPower, chief operating officer Anthony Ainsworth also called for certainty. “This needs to be a pro-business, energy-focussed election”, he said.

Ainsworth cited nPower’s two most recent Business Energy Tracker reports. These  showed how businesses wanted significantly more government support to invest in energy reduction measures, in order to better manage demand, reduce emissions and reinvest in operations.

“These are requirements we have long campaigned for”, said the nPower boss. “They need to be a key priority for the next government.

“Commercial energy users also want a modern, sustainable and secure system that supports their long-term Net Zero ambitions”,  Ainsworth went on.

“Without business investment, many of our energy and net zero goals won’t be possible, so supporting business is supporting economic growth, employment and national prosperity”.

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Results for the second year of the Energy Transition Readiness Index (ETRI), prepared by polling members of the Renewable Energy Association, show that the UK is dogged by politicians’ short-term NIMTO –   “not in my term of office” – concerns and evasions, and so lacks consistency towards longer-term goals of decarbonisation.

The results, the REA tracking study concludes, are continuing uncertainty and second-guessing among energy users, suppliers and investors about the best way to meet Net Zero economically.

Investors, in particular, will be attracted to the UK’s energy transition only if they can see patterns of clear governance and regulatory stability, says the report’s authors. At present, the signals from Richi Sunak’s administration are simply not strong enough.  The PM is pictured appointing new D-ESNZ secretary of state Claire Coutinho in August.

The Energy Transition Readiness Index (ETRI) 2023 assesses electricity markets, their workings and their outlooks in 14 European countries.  The REA publishes it with sponsorship from power engineers Eaton and investors Foresight Group.

While Britain has risen since last year to sit in front of Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, in 2023 it lags  others countries benefitting from better evolved flexibility markets delivering fair, transparent, and simple access.

Flexibility is essential to stabilising regional and national grids relying lots of intermittent clean generation.  The best way for countries to attain flexibility, say the ETRI authors, is by encouraging new spending on demand-side response kit such as batteries and changed behaviour such as load-shfiting around the clock.

Open markets for flexibility must be designed and delivered. Despite tinkering with pilots, Britain lags our neighbours.

Respondents to a survey underpinning the report say progress towards Britain’s energy transition badly needs a root-and-branch leg-up such as President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Slowing the UK’s energy transition, as dictated in recent months by perceived short-term political gains for Sunak’s Conservatives, will be severe in its long-term financial costs, the REA repeats.

Taking its helicopter view across Europe, the ETRI 2023 report recommends:

• Creating open, easily accessible market for flexible low-carbon assets, and allowing them to compete head to head with carbon-intensive generation and storage
• Identifying future needs in low carbon flexibility;
• Choosing then speeding up the best reforms to flex markets;
• Tear down process barriers holding up cleverer DSR technologies

REA policy director Frank Gordon observed: “UK policy must shift away from prioritising the short term, if we are to meet our ambitious targets and increase investment certainty“.

Big growth is needed in Britain’s flex resources, Gordon argued, if the country was to meet its aspiration to generate 132TWh without carbon by 2030.  Without them, consumers would be footing higher bills.

“At last year’s publication of the ETRI study, we welcomed the Government’s warm rhetoric but called for significant action. This year the need for urgent need for action still stands, but we don’t have the luxury of the government’s warm words“.

Siobahn Meikle, managing director of power management multinational Eaton, said: “The survey’s good news is that Britain is well placed to attract investment. The UK has scored 15% higher on average for ‘investor attractiveness’ since the survey started in 2019.

“There is clear progress. A steady rollout of EV charging infrastructure, 55% of UK homes now with a smart meter, and flex markets are opening up. But the government still has work to do to set out the long-term policies that will consolidate investor confidence.”

Chris Tanner, chair of the REA’s finance forum and a partner at investors Foresight Group, added:  “Improvements seen in various countries underscore the fact that, with the right policies, the UK, and Europe have potential to attract significant investment in the energy transition”.

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The Energy Act 2023 received Royal Assent yesterday.  Among its reforms, it

• establishes of a Future Systems Operator for better co-ordinated planning in strategic energy systems;
• applies a Net Zero Mandate to Ofgem’s operations and responsibilities;
• regulation heat networks for the first time;
• gives powers to D-ESNZ to deliver government supported business models for both hydrogen production and Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)

Reducing energy bills over the long term, and transitioning UK power markets to embrace greater complexity in generation, trading and customer protection in low carbon electricity and heat, are the priorities of the Act.

The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology represents around 500 firms in low carbon power, and has actively lobbied for the new law’s reforms.

Frank Gordon, its director of policy, welcomed the statute, while conceding that it left some measures unaddressed.

“The Energy Act 2023 is a major piece of enabling legislation for our sector, and the REA warmly welcomes today’s confirmation as law“, said Gordon.

“The act provides certainty for investors in both hydrogen and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) – both technologies identified by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) as critical to reaching Net Zero.

“The REA and industry partners collectively called for this Bill to be reintroduced since last summer when its progress through parliament was delayed by the political uncertainty in Westminster, Gordon recalled.

“This previous stalling in legislation stifled investment and certainty; therefore the Bill receiving Royal Assent is indeed great news for the sector.

“We know that the entire energy transition still faces significant challenges which are currently delaying the roll out of low carbon technologies across all sectors. But this Act will be a catalyst for much needed action.

“We look forward to working alongside government in the coming months to help ensure energy is affordable for households and businesses and to make the UK more energy independent in the long-term.”

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Review23 is the annual progress check on the UK’s transition towards low carbon energy and the green economy, as seen by 500-plus member companies of the REA, the Renewable Energy & Clean Technology Association.

While generation of low-carbon power through wind, solar and geothermal is prospering, government silence or incoherence leave question marks, the report argues, over realsing the potential of green heat, transport & bioenergy.  The effect is to challenge Britain’s ability to meet its Net Zero deadlines in the short, medium & long terms.

Political uncertainty and rolling back on green policies mean, according to the REA,  that renewable developers are hurting, and international investment risks going elsewhere.

Renewables accounted last year for 14% of all UK energy, covering heat and transport, in addition to electricity, the study reports.    8.36% of total heat consumption and 5.32% of transport energy consumption came from renewables in 2022.

Wind energy accounted for more than half of all renewable electricity last year, the REA notes, quoting official DUKES figures.

Just under 141,000 people work in the green energy economy. The REA predicts 210,00 – or half as many again – by 2035.  With that workforce growth, would come a doubling of the green sector’s value to the economy, up from £23bn today.

Totting up regional projections, clean and renewable technologies radically lift the nation’s wealth by 2035.  But that £46bn target won’t be reached without the right regulatory & policy conditions, says the trade group.

Green technologies hold out promise as a means to level up Britain’s left-behind regions, the report observes, remedying the south-east’s continuing dominance.

The REA’s modelling analyses how consistent government support –  more use of supply chain plans, for example – could see future jobs and investment distributed more equally across the UK. The North East could see a 111% increase in market value by 2035, the study surmises, and the North is projected to support around 30,600 jobs with 12,700 more jobs located in Yorkshire and Humberside.

Harnessing the potential of all regions of the UK and accelerating deployment of all clean technologies is essential, the REA repeats.

“Even though it has been proven countless times that the energy transition is as much an economic opportunity as an environmental imperative, our sector still finds itself having to overcome naysayers time and time again, observed Dr Nina Skorupska CBE, the REA’s chief executive, pictured.

“The urgent need to unlock policy and investment blockages is clear throughout REview23”, she added.

“While we continued to see the dynamic resilience of the renewable energy and clean technology sector through the energy crisis, as well as months of political and policy uncertainty, we are not immune to real world economic forces.

“Indeed”, Skorupska remarked, “at times it can feel as if we are wading through treacle when repeatedly being challenged to make the economic case for Net Zero”.

Read REview23 here.

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Only 18,000 on-street or publicly accessible chargepoints for EV drivers are currently registered, analysis this month has found.

Today e-mobility campaigners Zemo Partnership, motoring journalist Quentin Willson’s FairCharge activists & the Climate Group have bonded with the Renewable Energy Association, making clear to minister Norman steps on how he can rescue the government’s faltering roll-out of chargepoints.

The bodies’ joint letter to minister Norman came on the day that the House of Lord’s Climate Change committee announced an inquiry into the growth of electric vehicles.  Public responses are invited before Friday 15 September.

EV re-sales now account for 5.7% of the UK market for used cars, figures from industry trackers the SMMT disclose today for 2023’s second quarter.   “Pure” battery-only pre-loved cars account on their own for 1.7% of used car trades, the 30,600 units changing hands in the three months to June rising by nearly 82% year on year.

Actions urged on decarbonisation minister Norman & on transport secretary Mark Harper in the campaigners’ Recharge UK report ‘Charging Forward to 2030’ include:

• Introducing a right to charge: Tenants in residential blocks should be protected by government from the high upfront cost of grid connections & installing chargepoints
• Give councils a duty to speed chargepoint connections, via an obligation to plan for EV infrastructure. That new requirement would also help power transmission operators to plan new grid capacity.
• Prioritise chargepoints in grid planning: With road freight & “blue-light” services increasingly needing chargepoints, planners should consider them as ‘nationally significant infrastructure’, ensuring TSOs push them up the pecking order for grid hook-ups
• Introduce a van charging standard to enable tradespeople to top up as easily as private car drivers
• Mandate more public chargepoints in car parks by specifying more cabling & connections in Whitehall’s continuing Future of Transport Regulatory Review

““By adopting this report’s recommendations in, the government can achieve 300,000 chargepoints by 2030, creating new jobs and driving economic growth“, REA chief executive Dr Nina Skorupska CBE tells in the campaigners’ joint letter.

“Reinvigorate the charge to Net Zero transport will help end criticism of the capability of charging infrastructure to meet future demand. It will also directly address the geographic inequalities of charging infrastructure that are reported today.

FairCharge’s founder Quentin Willson, pictured, tells minister Norman:

“It’s essential we have political leadership in resolving to create a charging infrastructure that both reassures consumers and generates UK growth, investment and jobs.

“2023 has seen the largest number of charging connections ever and charge point operators have pledged a further £6 billion by 2030. The UK is in a global race to secure EV and charging investment, but we risk becoming last if we don’t have enough connections to support the many billions being spent by the likes of Tata, JLR, Ford, BMW and Stellantis.

A word-class charging infrastructure will keep our UK car industry globally competitive. Building it as fast as we can is critical.”

Read the Charging Forward to 2030 report here.

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At the 2023 British Renewable Energy awards in London on Friday, the REA unusually honoured two recipients, Jackson and Skidmore, for its Judges Award.

The Conservative former environment minister was cited for his work on his Net Zero Review, commissioned by disgraced former premier Johnson.

Octopus’ founder Jackson was cited for the firm’s work in protecting its customers during two years of Britain’s accelerating cost of energy crisis.

For the second year, the REA’s Future Game Changers Award recognised young and innovative research into the sector

Five PhD students presented their research, with around 250 attendees at the Marriott Grosvenor House hotel voting for a winner.

Priyanka Kumar of Imperial College London, won the award for her research into developing a circular economy through utilising waste produced during the brewing of beer. Thanks to award sponsors Glennmont Partners, she will receive £2000 towards further development of her research.

REA chief executive Dr Nina Skorupska CBE commented:

“Despite the industry facing a challenging year, theses awards have shown those who are resilient in the drive towards Net Zero. With the brilliant work showcased, we are truly inspired and energised to keep pushing forward towards a low carbon future.

“We have so much to be proud of as an industry and we congratulate our winners and finalists.”

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Screened on Monday, a ‘Panorama’ examination of Britain’s supposed unpreparedness for switching to EVs this decade has drawn the ire of the Renewable Energy Association.

The flagship BBC-TV documentary alleged installations of new public charging points would fall short of the total needed under the government’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate, announced in October 2021.  The policy sets a road map for ministers to deliver on its commitment that all new cars sold from 2030 must be pure EVs or hybrids.

Not true, the REA counter-blasted in a statement.   The ratio of electric vehicles per public charge point already greatly exceeds the ratio of ICE cars per petrol or diesel pump.

Deployment of charging infrastructure including public points grew 35% last year . The trade body expects the trend to continue.

The programme also claimed that a standard charge point takes an hour to deliver 38 miles of range.

“Not representative”, the REA rebutted.  “At any rapid chargepoint, most EVs on sale today can charge from 0 to 80% in under an hour. Some of them deliver over 300 miles of range”.

The UK already has over 40,000 public chargepoints, and 84% of EV owners able to charge at home, declared Matthew Adams, the REA’s transport policy manager

“Only 16% of one million-plus plug-in vehicles now on the road will need to use public charging infrastructure frequently”, Adams added.

“With the average journey in the UK being 20 minutes and with battery ranges going above 300 miles on many models, it is unlikely that these 16% of people will regularly use the public charging infrastructure”, he went on.

Panorama highlighted drivers’ difficulties with differing cash payment systems offered by charge point operators.   This is already being resolved, said the REA’s Adams.

Tough new rules from government will soon require every new point above 8kW and new and existing points above 50kW to offer readers for contactless payment. Many operators already deploy them. Best practice via PAS 1899 & other standards, said the REA, ensures chargepoint cabling is light and easily accessible.

Meanwhile trade body SolarEnergyUK has hit back at newspaper reports of drastic tail-offs of PV panels’ generating powers, once rooftops heat up beyond 40 degrees in summer.

Solar panels wilting in the heat is “a gross and fundamental misapprehension”, said the lobbyists, quoting a leading technical expert on the technology.

Alastair Buckley, Sheffield University’s professor of organic electronics  commented: “High temperatures affect only marginally the output of solar power – it’s a secondary effect.

“If it’s sunny and hot, you are going to get good power output. It doesn’t fall off a cliff,” Buckley advised.

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Prime minister Rishi Sunak commissioned Dr Kieran Mullan, MP and geothermal expert, to review the technology’s potential. Technologists from Durham University’s Energy Institute contributed.

Their report ‘Dig Deep: Opportunities to Level Up through Deep Geothermal Heat & Energy” pointed out that geologically promising areas for the technology mapped closely onto 45 economically disadvantaged local authorities.

More than 40 per cent  of locations identified as having the highest geothermal potential fall within the 100 poorest areas qualifying for economic the UK Community Renewal Fund, the report notes.

“The overlap,” wrote Mullan, ”presents massive opportunities for investment in deep geothermal to contribute to the UK’s Levelling Up agenda that aims to reduce economic imbalances between areas and social groups across the UK”.

Mullan and his colleagues claim geothermal heat can be compete on cost with other low carbon energy sources such as nuclear and green hydrogen made under the Green Gas Support Scheme.

A fixed tariff for heat extracted from deep bores could spur the development of up to 350 geothermal plants by mid-century, together producing 15,000 GWh every year, the report envisages.

“A tariff based approach would transfer the risk from the taxpayer to industry in comparison to grant based support”, the MP argues. “ It would also enable the scale needed to bring down costs and reduce risk.”

Pumping the earth’s natural heat to power local heat distribution records could create up thousands of high quality jobs, Mullan concluded.

At the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology, policy director Frank Gordon, responded:

“We would like to thank Kieran Mullan MP for publishing this report and being a friend to the geothermal industry.

“Deep geothermal heat and power is an established renewable energy technology in Europe, and the UK holds significant potential for developing deep geothermal heat, particularly in rural and levelling up areas.

“Government now needs to deliver a comprehensive geothermal strategy without delay, including policy support to help the industry get off the ground. Meeting the Government’s Net Zero ambitions requires a complete range of renewable and clean technologies to all play their part, and geothermal should not be left behind.

Last month the government picked out seven state-of-the-art geothermal systems and heat networks to receive £91 million from the government’s £288 million Green Heat Network Fund.

The seven projects include pumping heat from over 5,000 meters under Cornwall, and using it to  extract heat from granite rocks beneath an industrial site in Langage.

The Green Heat Network Fund opened in March 2022 to public, private and third sector applicants in England. It will run to 2025.

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Johnson Matthey executive Jane Toogood was appointed last summer as an independent advocate, tasked to take views from hydrogen stakeholders, and cast them into policy demands on ministers.   In August 2021, the government published Britain’s first high-level Hydrogen Strategy.

Her report yesterday called for more detail & joined-up thinking in Whitehall on fostering the gas, potentially as an era-defining substitute to carbon-heavy existing feedstocks in transport, heat & industrial processes.

Among Toogood’s recommendations to ministers:

• Remove planning & investment barriers to deliver industrial-scale projects in hydrogen electrolysis & carbon-capture & storage
• Stimulate demand in blending, heating & transport
• Task a future replacement for National Grid ESO to embrace hydrogen distribution
• Providing a clear vision for investors on how and when hydrogen will scale-up beyond the first round of projects
• Create a road map in quest of cost savings of up to £ 38 billion to industry spurred by the green gas

The champion’s recommendations to industry include offering work groups to policy makers, setting out enterprises’ steps needed to foster a hydrogen-driven future.

On behalf of its 500 or so member companies, policy director Frank Gordon at the Association for Renewable Energy & Clean Technology responded:

“The Hydrogen Champion’s report highlights the need for greater clarity on upcoming policy decisions for hydrogen users, funding available, and overall delivery of the hydrogen roadmap to 2030 and beyond. This is something that the REA has been calling for, and industry urgently needs.

“The REA welcomes the report’s recommendations”, Gordon went on, “particularly in kickstarting investment by overcoming barriers to deliver the first CCUS-enabled and electrolytic hydrogen production projects at scale, providing a clear vision for investors on how and when hydrogen will scale-up beyond the first round of projects, and driving rapid development of the hydrogen economy by stimulating demand in blending, heating, and transport.

“Although government must now take the lead to assure the market, industry stands ready to deliver the UK’s hydrogen ambitions.”

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Replacing D-BEIS, the new Department of Energy Security and Net Zero has three operational priorities:  securing long-term supply, securing Net Zero and ensuring affordability of energy.

Grant Shapps, pictured, D-BEIS’ secretary of state since September, continues in the same role at D-ESNZ.

The new ministry’s remit evokes its forerunner DECC, created by Gordon Brown in 2008, then abolished in July 2016 under Theresa May’s administration.

Representatives of Britain’s energy industry liked the notion, while voicing reservations about its speed in implementing policy.

From Britain’s biggest pro-renewables group the REA, the welcome was muted, and came with a major caveat.

“An energy department with a focus on Net Zero is welcome, as long as the Government now hits the ground running and avoids the usual delays while new departments are established”. said Dr Nina Skorupska, the association’s CEO.

“Decision making in the sector has already been woefully delayed over the last few years, Dr Skorupska went on.  “A joined-up approach across these new departments is essential, as well as implementing the recommendations from Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Report “Mission Zero”, which clearly stated that “Net Zero is the largest growth opportunity of the 21st century.”

From enterprise power supplier nPower Business Solutions, chief operating officer Anthony Ainsworth welcomed the reform.

More government protection

“The past two years in particular have highlighted the need for specific governmental focus on both energy and Net Zero”, said Ainsworth. “So a secure and sustainable policy framework can be built that supports both businesses and consumers”.

“Last year, nPower’s Business Energy Tracker report revealed that 82% of businesses felt that the government could be doing more to protect them against energy market volatility. While measures such as the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme were welcome interventions, it has become more apparent that a focussed and long-term approach is needed to enable the UK to become more energy resilient.

“Similarly, the launch of the government’s Net Zero Review earlier this year clearly demonstrated that urgent action needs to be taken now if the UK is to hit its 2050 target”, Ainsworth concluded.

Highlighting in the new department’s title the Net Zero ambitions first declared in 2021 under the Johnson government could be seen as prime minister Sunak laying down a challenge to his Conservative back benchers.  A vocal Net Zero Research group increasingly questions the policy’s impact and goals, and their deadline for achievement by 2050.

Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, picked up the point.

“Creation of the new department.. shows MPs on the right of the Conservative Party have failed to win the argument for weakening climate policy”, commented Ward.

“A more important question is whether the new department will be able to persuade other departments and the Treasury to accelerate action on cutting greenhouse gas emissions across the economy outside the energy sector.”

Law firm Osborne Clarke questioned “halving inflation” being in the revamped ministry’s remit.

Energy trilemma

“The new department should give the UK the ability to regain the focus needed to be a leading voice on climate change and to make the case for why it is economically the right thing to do, even in a downturn”, opined James Watson, the lawyers’ energy partner and head of decarbonisation.

“However, it is slightly odd to see the new department tasked with halving inflation”, Watson continued. “It would be worrying if this overall objective prevents the department from delivering on the government’s own Net Zero strategy.”

The UN-accredited World Energy Council claims to have established in the early 1990s the concept of an ‘energy trilemma’, covering sustainability, affordability and security of supply.

Dr Angela Wilkinson, the council’s secretary general and CEO said”  “It is heartening to see government joining the dots across the World Energy trilemma dimensions. We greatly look forward to engaging with the new department”.

“It is encouraging to see such roles so explicitly and visibly combined into a government department. With energy integral to quality of life and humankind, the new department has a vital role to play in UK life”.

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The finance minister spoke in the City on Friday about the nation’s pride in the renewables sector, which last year delivered 40% of UK electricity.

Hunt was seeking to portray how supposed ‘Brexit benefits’ could open the way to industrial growth, and a long-overdue cure for the nation’s poor record in economic productivity.

Representing over 500 companies trading in the supply chain for low-carbon power, the REA – full title the Association for Renewable Energy & Clean Technology – welcomed the Chancellor’s heralding of renewables as a big-growth area, and a national success story.

“The energy transition is both an economic opportunity and an environmental imperative”, said the REA’s boss, Dr Nina Skorupska, pictured.

Hunt addressed industry chiefs in the London offices of Bloomberg. The analysts had earlier reported that, for the first time last year, global clean energy investment topped $ 1 trillion.  Another first saw spending on renewables exceed money pumped into planet-cooking hydrocarbons.

Dr Skorupska set her group’s sights still higher.

“While the REA echoes the Chancellor’s comments on the potential of our sector, and that 40% of electricity last year generated through renewables is indeed a national success story, the REA believes that 2023 needs to be a milestone year where renewable power exceeds 50%”, she said.

“We can go further”.

When Hunt launches his spring budget on 15 March, the lobbyists will be looking for radical moves from the Treasury, including:

• Capital allowances for renewable & clean technologies investments, providing a tax break that will encourage more private investment into the market.
• Zero-rating VAT on home batteries
• Accelerating a well-funded, more extensive scheme to insulate British homes
• Launch delayed support funds for rising energy technologies, such batteries providing current beyond two hours, for bioenergy & Carbon Capture and Storage
• Speed-release an ambitious Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, spurring EV take-up and stripping carbon from HGVs

Fourteen leopards, a-purring  

Said Skorupska: “The Chancellor’s warm words must urgently be reinforced by policy. A continued lack of certainty has risked sending the wrong signals to low carbon investors.

The REA stressed that growth in its sector is not guaranteed to continue without commitment from government, see went on.  The Spring Statement must be used to ensure an attractive market for global green investment in the UK.

“We now welcome the opportunity to continue working closely with Government on our members’ behalf to further explore the potential of our sector”, the REA chief observed.

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Nearly three-quarters – or 70% – of public re-powering points already offer tariffs which keep EVs cheaper to fill up than a petrol or diesel vehicle, researchers found.  They drew the line at recharging points asking no more than 68.7 pence per kWh.

In alliance with transport researchers New Automotive, clean power trade body the REA released its report “On the Road to 2030” in Parliament yesterday.

The study offers what it calls “the first clear snapshot of EV infrastructure” across Britain, with growth forecasts.

The Conservative government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV), floated first among the Net Zero Strategy proposals in October 2021, remains the most effective way to drive EV uptake in the UK, the research concludes.

It guarantees numbers & milestones in the supply of electric cars, providing the motor trade with certainty about future demand, and thus blows air under the wings of UK’s rising network of public chargers.

To reduce doubts about how many EVs will take to Britain’s roads, and by when, the REA urges policy makers to stay true to the ZEV’s commitments.

As of October,  Department of Transport analysts totted up just under 35,000 public EV chargers deployed across the UK at all power ratings. The total had grown 8% in only three months.   Half the total, the ministry reckoned, are ‘destination’ public chargers including in car parks.  32% are on-street, including in converted lampposts.

Transport lobbyists and researchers New AutoMotive claim credit for persuading Whitehall to advance Britain’s ban on new ICE cars by a decade, to 2030. Their monthly Electric Car Count tallies EVs as they roll out of showrooms, yielding all-important stats on fluctuating market shares secured by competing manufacturers.

REA external affairs director Amy MacConnachie said;  “It’s excellent news that this key report has found EVs are indeed still cheaper to fill up than a petrol or diesel car, at 70% of UK public chargers.

“It is positive messaging for drivers looking to make the switch, reinforcing effective infrastructure and low-cost incentives, putting to bed any lingering concerns”.

She called for an ambitious ZEV mandate, describing it as essential to EV uptake by providing the motor industry with reassurance around the size of future demand.

Electric mobility is one of fourteen spheres of research and advocacy advanced by the REA, in full the Association for Renewable Energy & Clean Technology.

The European Climate Foundation sponsored the report, available here.

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Launching the ‘Strategy for Renewable Energy and Clean Technologies’, REA’s CEO, Dr Nina Skorupska CBE, said that, ‘the change required over the next three decades is on a par to that experienced during the industrial revolution.’

Key targets within the Strategy include:

• By the end of 2022, more than 50% of electricity generation will be provided by renewables – this figure will reach 100% by 2032;
• Majority of energy demand for the heat and transport sectors could be met from renewable and clean technologies by 2035;
• All bio-waste could be either separated and recycled at source or collected separately by the end of 2023.

However, the REA say that, in order for these targets to be met, a number of barriers will have to be removed. For the green industry to thrive, it needs a clear route to market, a fit for purpose grid network and a wide mix of technologies.

The Strategy also reiterates the economic benefits on offer from renewable energy and clean technology, with 200,000 new jobs in the sector being created by 2035 should the government provide the right support.

Dr Nina Skorupska CBE, Chief Executive of the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), said: “The UK’s energy system is in the midst of the largest transformation for generations, moving towards the legally-binding 2050 Net Zero target for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The change required over the next three decades is on a par to that experienced during the industrial revolution; affecting people’s homes, businesses and the very fabric of the nation.

“With COP26 on the horizon, the government has an opportunity to make a bold statement – this Strategy not only sets out several necessary and achievable targets, but it also provides the solutions to removing the barriers which could prevent those targets being met.

“It is now abundantly clear that the argument of an ‘either/or’ choice between tackling climate change and providing an economic boost is over. Support for the renewable energy and clean technology sector will not only help the government reach its net zero ambitions, but it could deliver hundreds of thousands of new jobs and return billions of pounds worth of investment too.

“Our Strategy offers government the pathway to net zero and economic recovery – it is now up to them to deliver it.”

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