The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) welcomes news that the UK Government will recommit to supporting the cheapest forms of low-carbon electricity generation; onshore wind and solar energy.
The announcement, made in a consultation published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will see the Government agree to ‘Contracts for Difference’ (CfD) auctions – or allocation rounds – which include solar and wind energy from 2021.
The CCC’s Chief Executive, Chris Stark, said:
“I am delighted that the Government is recommitting to onshore wind and solar; amongst the cheapest forms of low-carbon electricity. We’ll now find out how cheap these technologies can really be. Reaching Net Zero emissions by 2050 means pulling out all the stops – we have called for a quadrupling of low-carbon electricity from current levels.
“More than that, this is a sign that the Government is getting serious about delivering a Net Zero UK; overcoming ideological objections to support a low-carbon technology with strong public support. It’s very good news.”
The CCC has consistently called for onshore wind and solar to be included in the Government’s renewable energy strategy. Total UK electricity supply will need to double by 2050, and electricity from low-carbon sources will need to quadruple, in order to deliver the UK’s commitment to become a Net Zero emissions economy by that year.
Since 2016, Government support for CfD auctions has been reserved exclusively for offshore wind, making it more difficult to get onshore wind and solar projects off the ground.
Notes to editors
- The Committee’s scenarios for electricity generation require 22-29 GW of onshore wind capacity and 23-43 GW of solar by 2030 – and more by 2050 – compared to onshore wind and solar capacity of around 13 GW each today.
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