Government unveils new plans claiming to make UK world leader in green energy

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out new plans to Build Back Greener by making the UK the world leader in clean wind energy – creating jobs, slashing carbon emissions and boosting exports.

The announcement is part of the government’s commitment towards net zero emissions by 2050 and will support 60,000 jobs.

The plan is focused on investing in projects across the green sector and includes making £160m available to upgrade ports and infrastructure across Northern England, Scotland and Wales. This will increase offshore wind capacity which currently meets 10 percent of the UK’s electricity demand and is already the largest in the world.

The aim of this investment will be to create 2,000 construction jobs and enable the sector to support up to 60,000 jobs directly and indirectly by 2030 in ports, factories and the supply chains, manufacturing the next generation of offshore wind turbines and delivering clean energy to the UK.

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister set out further commitments to accelerate the UK’s progress towards net zero emissions by 2050. This includes boosting the government’s previous 30GW target to 40GW of offshore wind energy to power every home in the country by 2030.

Floating windfarms are a relatively new technology that allow wind farms to be built further out to sea in deeper waters, boosting capacity even further where winds are strongest. As part of the plan, the Government will create a new target for floating offshore wind to deliver 1GW of energy by 2030, which is over 15 times the current volumes worldwide.

Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson said, “Our seas hold immense potential to power our homes and communities with low-cost green energy and we are already leading the way in harnessing its strengths.”

In order to provide enough clean, low cost energy to power up to 10m homes, the government is setting a target to support up to double the capacity of renewable energy in the next Contracts for Difference auction - opening in late 2021.

Last September the third round of the Contracts for Difference renewable energy auction delivered record-low prices on enough clean energy to power 7m homes. The next round will be open to onshore wind and solar projects for the first time since 2015.

These commitments are the first stage outlined as part of the PM’s ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution. It will be set out fully later this year. They also form part of wider efforts to ensure the UK meets its legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

“As we build back better, we must build back greener,” said Johnson. “We are committing to new ambitious targets and investment into wind power to accelerate our progress towards net zero emissions by 2050.”

By supporting UK manufacturers in government-backed renewables projects, “the industry will be able to reach its target of 60 percent of offshore wind farm content coming from the UK”, said the Government.