Alok Sharma: North sea gas extraction won't solve energy crisis
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As the war in Ukraine intensifies, countries have been looking to reduce their reliance on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s exports of oil and natural gas. In light of these efforts, the UK has been turning to renewables, particularly wind and nuclear power to boost its energy security.
Now, a new report by Carbon Free Europe finds that the UK is well-positioned to leverage its powerful supply of wind energy, along with nuclear power to reach net zero emissions on time.
The model they created also predicted that the electricity demand in UK will skyrocket by about 240 percent by 2050, as the country electrifies buildings, transport and parts of the industry, and begins using electricity to produce hydrogen.
This finding is part of the initiative’s comprehensive modelling of the UK, EU, and its Member States’ energy system pathways to net zero.
According to the report, the UK is “one of the European countries best positioned to lead with a technology-inclusive approach to net zero”.
To achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the country will have a wide range of resources, including offshore wind, nuclear energy, salt caverns for hydrogen storage, carbon capture technology and geologic sequestration, and biofuels.
The models also showed that the UK will be able to eliminate its reliance on Russian gas and safeguard itself from volatile fuel prices in the future.
The UK, which relies on Russia for four percent of its gas supply, has pledged to end oil imports by the end of the year.
The report found that Britain could reach net zero “through a power mix of around 36 percent of offshore wind, 34 percent of nuclear, 9 percent of onshore wind, and 7 percent of solar, and 1 percent other resources like biomass, geothermal, and hydro”.
Josh Freed, co-founder of the Carbon-Free Europe initiative, said: “The Government’s commitment to nuclear new build will help to deliver British energy sovereignty – both from Russian natural gas and from neighbouring countries’ energy policies – and ensure stable prices for the public.”
The model also predicted that the UK would become a major exporter of energy in the UK.
However, the report also noted that Britain would still import about 12 percent of its energy for “reliability and resource quality reasons.”
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Lindsey Walter, co-founder of the Carbon-Free Europe initiative, said: “The UK is well-positioned to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 if inclusive policies enforce an all-of-the-above carbon-free energy mix, and proper investment is made to scale up the necessary technologies and transmission lines required in a net-zero world.”
“Electrification of buildings, including the replacement of natural gas boilers with heat pumps, will mean an upfront cost for consumers, but will be a crucial strategy to rapidly reduce the UK’s reliance on natural gas and ensure stable, lower energy bills.”
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