Record-breaking £1.5 billion government budget set for next renewable auction                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The UK government has recently announced a record-breaking £1.5 billion budget for the next renewable auction, representing a more than 50% increase in previous budgets. A move, it’s said, put in place to ‘accelerate the UK’s transition to clean, affordable, and homegrown energy’.

Interestingly, the majority of the budget, £1.1 billion, is dedicated to offshore wind and, where this figure is more than the total budget of all previous auctions combined, shows the renewable energy industry that the government has a strong intention to invest in UK waters.

Alongside this is included £185 million for established technologies like onshore wind and solar, and £270 million for emerging technologies such as floating offshore wind and tidal energy; all in a very conscious effort to achieve Net Zero by 2030.

And, whilst this is a major event for the renewable industry and shows a serious commitment from the government to achieve their ambitious clean energy goals, there are some questions that still need to be answered and some urgent foundational work that needs to be addressed before the UK can confidently make the switch to zero carbon in the next 5 [and a bit!] years.

National grid upgrades desperately needed

For instance, new renewable energy projects are currently being given a grid connection date 10 - 15+ years in the future, making it almost impossible to get new ones off the ground - putting investors off and de-incentivising new plants & projects - and leading many to either stagnate whilst a solution is sought or fail entirely.

For any new renewable project to succeed, upgrades to the National Grid are desperately needed - firstly to rectify the obvious backlog of near-completed projects awaiting connection, and secondly to connect those brand new ones the government are keen to fund - without which, the UK renewable energy industry will surely struggle.

There’s more to renewables than simply wind

What’s more, whilst wind power may be a cornerstone of clean and renewable energy, there’s more to the industry than simply wind and is diversifying renewable energy projects, initiatives and the funding they need to succeed - especially with such a tight deadline firmly on the horizon - not a good idea?

For example, Energy from Waste plants and Energy Recovery Facilities, AD plants, nuclear power plants, and even geothermal technology - although some of which are controversial - are all considered renewable energy solutions, some of which are already very well established within the UK, and some of which are emerging, and are being arguably overlooked.

In short, whilst this impressive sum of money is, indeed, incredibly encouraging and a wonderful boost to the renewable industry, we’re left wondering if it goes far enough to support renewable projects in the right places?