PM’s clean electricity pledge welcomed

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to ensure electricity provision is 95% ‘clean’ by 2030 as one of his six milestones he unveiled in his Plan For Change speech.
He said he plans to make Britain a clean energy superpower and will oversee the building of 1.5 million homes as well as ensuring fast-tracking planning on at least 150 major infrastructure projects.
Environmental campaigners have welcomed the pledges believing they will lead to unlocking grid infrastructure, new renewable energy projects, climate resilience schemes and new reservoirs.
Under the ‘clean energy superpower’ pillar, the PM has confirmed that the UK will aim to have 95% of its electricity generation coming from nuclear and renewables by the end of the decade.
The 5% remainder should be accounted for by gas plants fitted with carbon capture and storage.
RenewableUK’s CEO Dan McGrail said: “The drumbeat of policy announcements we’ve seen from Government is really grabbing the attention of clean energy investors. The prize, if we can get the right framework in place to deliver the Prime Minister’s clean power mission, is tens of billions of pounds of investment in renewable energy in the UK, increased energy security for billpayers and thousands of new jobs. We could see 100,000 jobs in offshore wind alone by 2030.
“Increasing the roll out of new wind and solar farms in the UK is clearly going to require us to speed up planning approvals, so it’s great to see Government put firm targets in place for the number of major infrastructure projects it will confirm in the next five years.”
The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit’s (ECIU) head of energy, Jess Ralston, said: “Moving away from gas, which will increasingly come from abroad as the North Sea continues its inevitable decline, and rolling out more British renewables will help shield households from future gas price spikes. This is good for avoiding future volatility on bills and for our energy security in general as we will become less reliant on foreign gas imports.”
Alan King, Syntegra MD, said: “Any commitment to increasing renewable energy and other sustainable solutions has to be good news.
“These things really matter in the public psyche and it’s encouraging to see this feature so prominently in the Government’s priorities.”