The UK’s path to Net Zero just got clearer—and offshore wind is leading the charge.
The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) Seventh Carbon Budget, covering 2038–2042, highlights a massive scale-up of offshore wind and energy storage as essential to powering the nation’s future.
“This budget puts offshore wind right at the heart of the UK’s clean electricity system,” said RenewableUK’s Barnaby Wharton.
With capacity set to grow sixfold by 2040, this expansion is vital as more Brits switch to electric vehicles and heat pumps. Mr Wharton also emphasised the need to boost storage with batteries and green hydrogen to ensure a flexible, reliable power grid.
But it’s not just about clean energy—it’s about cutting household costs and creating jobs. “This will enable everyone to benefit from domestically produced low-carbon electricity, reducing household bills in the long term and boosting the UK’s energy security,” Wharton added.
Energy UK’s CEO Dhara Vyas echoed the urgency of the shift. “The CCC’s analysis clearly shows that reducing emissions will lead to more affordable and secure energy,” she said, warning that dependence on volatile global gas prices has left households vulnerable.
The CCC’s recommendations also spotlight electrification as the backbone of decarbonising the economy.
Ms Vyas called for the removal of policy levies from electricity bills, saying, “Done well, it should bring down prices as well as encourage people to electrify their homes.”
With an industrial strategy focused on clean energy due later this year, the message is clear: the UK’s energy future is homegrown, green and ready to power a new era.
Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said “The CCC is right to say that the path ahead is clear. The future is electrified and government needs to get on and deliver it. As our second National Infrastructure Assessment showed, electric vehicles and heat pumps will decarbonise the economy, lower bills and deliver greater energy security.”
But Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, warned there was a lot promised but nothing happening soon to make a real difference to affordability.
He said: “Until the fruits of the CCC’s plan come to fruition, we will also need to see support for vulnerable households with their bills every winter. The Government has announced that it will take measures to expand the Warm Home Discount and tackle the energy debt mountain, but we need this to go to all vulnerable groups who need support and – of course – this too will need to be paid for.”
Finally when it comes to the skills needed to get us to net zero, Prospect union’s Senior Deputy General Secretary Sue Ferns warned no one should be left behind.
“The 7th Carbon Budget provides further evidence that a secure, decarbonised energy system is in the national interest. The CCC is also right to highlight that the transition will not happen without skilled workers and that sectors central to the transition must provide good jobs with good pay, terms and conditions if we are to attract the right amount of skilled workers to the right jobs.”
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