Renewable energy has developed hugely over the past few years but the sector needs more investment to enhance the UK’s energy security, an analyst has said.
Michael Meakin-Blackwell, business services director at MHA, told Express.co.uk the UK’s renewables capacity has come a long way but more development is needed.
He said: “The lack of development and investment within the transmission infrastructure network is hindering the sector’s potentially exponential growth.
“For example, significant curtailment costs and expenses associated with requesting assets to stop generating are a direct result of the insufficient transmission network.
“This lack of development means there is an urgent need to speed up infrastructure to enhance the UK’s energy security.”
He explained how the UK has increased its renewable energy generation by 500 percent since 2010. Connected battery capacity for the UK at the end of July 2023 was at almost 3GW, or 3.5GWh.
This compares well to the US where in the second quarter of 2023 they had just 12.689GW of installed battery storage capacity, despite being a much larger country.
Wind power in the UK also made up just over a quarter of all electricity generation in 2022.
A report commissioned by the Energy Secretary, published last month, highlighted the need to speed up the creation of electricity transmission infrastructure in Great Britain.
The study recommended speeding up the delivery of these assets from a 14-year period to seven years.
Mr Meakin-Blackwell said: “In order to speed up the process to seven years, there needs to be clear and consistent messaging from the Government on how this can be achieved.
“It is also vital the UK population understands the need for this development and how the interaction with renewable assets actually happens, so the Government can help to assist this.”
He said a key advantage of investing in renewables is it will reduce the UK’s dependence on the wholesale international energy market.
He explained: “By investing in renewables, and reducing our need for fossil fuels, we can become less reliant on the wholesale market, which in turn could lower our energy bills in the future and provide more consistency.
“Increasing our data analytics via smart meter installations, where Ofgem have mandated targets to suppliers, will also help us understand our energy bills more and allow us to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel generated electricity.
“However, this is likely to be a longer-term benefit as right now we are continuing to build up our renewable assets and develop our transmission networks.”
He cited another recent report commissioned by Ofgem which found there was a potential £51billion saving for consumers between 2025 and 2040 by switching to a nodal pricing method.
The energy expert said: “In a nodal system, pricing is on a micro, regional level although this would create regional disparities in pricing.
“However, more research could be done into this to ensure that renewable energy is utilised and that consumers get a fair deal.”
He said storage solutions are particularly important for wind and tidal power as they do not produce constant power.
He said: “Tidal power will fluctuate due to movements in high/low tide and wind power generation is dependent on variable wind speeds.
“To make the most out of tidal and wind energy, storage solutions should be developed. The technology behind storage solutions will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the energy captured and ultimately ensure that the power generated by wind and tidal isn’t lost or curtailed.”
For the latest personal finance news, follow us on Twitter at @ExpressMoney_.
