Will ‘powering up’ get the

The revised energy plans were set out in response to last year’s High Court judgment that the government’s current strategy was not detailed enough to show how the UK would reach its 2050 net-zero target.

The energy security strategy aims to address the UK’s vulnerability to fossil fuel prices by reducing dependence on imported oil and gas through home-grown clean energy. The government wants the UK to have the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe by 2035, and double generation capacity by the late 2030s.

Many of the energy measures were already in place but more detail has been added on:

• A commitment to carbon capture usage and storage

• Kickstarting investment in floating offshore wind

• Investment in green hydrogen production

• Small modular nuclear reactor technology

• Rebranding ECO+ to become the Great British Insulation Scheme

• Extending the Boiler Upgrade Scheme until 2028

• Investing in more EV charging points and infrastructure.

Carbon capture and storage (CCUS)

The government says it will provide up to £20 billion of funding for early deployment of CCUS, announcing eight projects to progress to negotiations to form the first two CCUS clusters, in the North-east and North-west. It says it’s developing a longerterm vision to set out how CCUS will support net zero.

Hydrogen

Its ambition is to have up to 10GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, potentially generating enough clean electricity to power London for a year.

The government says it will bring forward hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure business models, and aim to introduce legislative powers when Parliamentary time allows, which will be crucial to designing these new business models by 2025.

Energy efficiency (ECO)

There will be a new Energy Company Obligation scheme –the Great British Insulation Scheme – to deliver £1 billion of additional investment by March 2026 in energy efficiency upgrades, such as loft and cavity wall insulation.

The scheme will support around 300,000 of the country’s least energy efficient homes to save £300-£400 each year; it will extend help to a wider group of people living in the least efficient homes in the lower council tax bands as well as boosting help for those on the lowest incomes. The government says it will put legislation in place by the summer.

It’s also planning to consult by the end of the year on how to improve the energy efficiency of owner-occupied homes. It will publish a summary of responses to the consultation on improving the energy performance of privately rented homes and respond to the consultation on improving home energy performance.

Cautious welcome

The industry has been broadly supportive of the announcements, particularly that the government appears to recognise that no single heating technology will provide all the answers.

Worcester Bosch CEO Carl Arntzen says: “It is positive to see the government announce the Great British Insulation Scheme, which brings new grants that could help approximately 80 per cent of homes in low-efficiency bands improve their property’s EPC rating. This is a welcome

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) will be extended until 2028 and the government says it will ramp up marketing to increase consumer awareness and take-up.

The BUS is a grant payable in England and Wales for installations in domestic and some non-domestic properties to support homeowners with the cost of replacing their gas boilers with heat pumps and, in some very specific cases, biomass.

The government still has ambitions to phase out all new and replacement natural gas boilers by 2035 and says it will consider the Independent Review of Net Zero Review’s recommendation on this.

step towards preparing the UK’s housing stock for future greener heating solutions.

“It is also good to see the government taking an agnostic approach when it comes to natural gas alternatives. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme’s two-year extension plus the confirmed investment into both UK manufacturing of heat pumps and green hydrogen production are all very welcome.

“It alludes to key decisionmakers now appreciating that to solve the tricky challenge of decarbonisation, there is no one silver bullet.”

Vaillant’s training and technologies director Mark Wilkins says: “We are pleased to see an extension of financial