New Regen analysis shows that the UK has a pipeline of shovel-ready renewable energy and battery storage projects that could provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and contribute over £125 billion to the green economic recovery – if facilitated by the UK government.
The analysis shows the huge scale of the opportunity to drive reductions in carbon emissions across the energy sector, whilst kickstarting the economy and creating valuable jobs across the country.
The falling costs of renewables and storage means that the 61 GW pipeline of green electricity projects can be developed quickly through private sector investment, allowing public investment to be focused on other green policies targeting hard-to-decarbonise sectors.
It is three key policies needed to remove barriers and unlock these clean electricity projects:
- Publish an Energy White Paper putting the UK on course for a flexible power system based on renewables and storage
- Commit to annual Contracts for Difference auctions to give investors confidence
- End the anti onshore wind policies in the English planning regime
Unlocking renewables and storage deployment forms one part of tackling the climate emergency, but urgent action is needed throughout the energy system.