Clean Power 2030 Action Plan

Summary

Clean Power by 2030 will herald a new era of clean energy independence and tackle three major challenges: the need for a secure and affordable energy supply, the creation of essential new energy industries, supported by skilled workers in their thousands, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit our contribution to the damaging effects of climate change. Clean power by 2030 is a sprint towards these essential goals.

We have accepted independent advice from the National Energy System Operator (NESO), on the energy infrastructure required to deliver Clean Power 2030. In a typical weather year, the 2030 power system will see clean sources produce at least as much power as Great Britain consumes in total over the whole year, and at least 95% of Great Britain’s generation; reducing the carbon intensity of our generation from 171gCO2e/kWh in 2023 to well below 50gCO2e/kWh in 2030.

The path to 2030

Successful delivery will require rapid deployment of new clean energy capacity across the whole of the UK , reflecting the shared renewable ambitions of the UK , Scottish and Welsh Governments. In this plan, we are accepting government’s central role in steering the creation of this new energy system, setting our expectations for the 2030 capacities of key technologies at national and regional level. We have high ambition. That means 43-50 GW of offshore wind, 27-29 GW of onshore wind, and 45-47 GW of solar power, significantly reducing our fossil-fuel dependency. These will be complemented by flexible capacity, including 23-27 GW of battery capacity, 4-6 GW of long-duration energy storage, and development of flexibility technologies including gas carbon capture utilisation & storage, hydrogen, and substantial opportunity for consumer-led flexibility.

In line with the NESO advice, this new capacity must be underpinned by the rapid delivery of 80 network and enabling infrastructure projects, most of which are already at an advanced stage of planning and development.

Over the period to 2030, security of supply will be protected with the maintenance of an expected 35 GW of unabated gas reserve capacity.

Growing our clean energy system in this way will see once-in-a-generation levels of energy investment – an estimated £40 billion on average per year between 2025-2030, spreading the economic benefits of clean energy investment throughout the UK with the collaboration of the Scottish and Welsh Governments. These investments will protect electricity consumers from volatile gas prices and be the foundation of a U K energy system that can bring down consumer bills for good. Every choice we make will be scrutinised to maximise the impact it can have in reducing consumer bills.

The new industries and employment opportunities created by the huge investment ahead will also ensure there are lasting economic benefits from clean power throughout the country. Delivering Clean Power 2030 also paves the way to decarbonising the wider economy by 2050 as we pursue the electrification of heat in buildings, transport, and industry. By 2050, annual electricity demand is likely to at least double. Clean power by 2030 prepares us for the rapid growth in power demand expected over the 2030s and 40s.

Actions we are taking to accelerate delivery

To hold to our path to 2030, we know that the government must take radical action, quickly. This document sets out our first major steps towards clean power, in partnership with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, industry and the public:

Electricity Networks and connections  

We need to reform the grid connections process and reduce the queue to connect, working with NESO and Ofgem to provide a framework through which NESO can work with Transmission Owners (T O s) and Distribution Network Operators (D N O s) to prioritise projects needed for 2030, while maintain a robust pipeline beyond 2030. Around twice as much new transmission network infrastructure will be needed in the nation’s grid by 2030 as has been built in the past decade.

Regulatory reform will ensure Clean Power 2030 is better integrated into planning and decision making, so investment can be made ahead of need and the time taken to build and deliver network projects can be reduced in line with 2030 requirements. This includes working with Ofgem to explore the appropriateness of tightening the incentives and penalties on electricity transmission owners and distribution network operators to drive the acceleration of network delivery. The Scottish and Welsh Governments are considering how their planning and consenting regimes will also integrate with Clean Power 2030.

An improved planning and consenting environment will accelerate the expansion and upgrade of transmission and distribution networks. We will consult on expanding planning consent exemptions to include low-voltage connections and upgrades in England, and engage with M H C L G on opportunities to provide further flexibilities for the consenting of electrical substations. It is essential that we engage effectively and thoroughly with communities that will host new transmission network infrastructure, so they can be a part of the change to our system and benefit from it.

The Scottish Government will shortly consult on the refresh of its Good Practice Principles for community benefits for onshore and offshore net zero energy infrastructure. The government’s view is that communities that host clean energy infrastructure should benefit from it. As a first step, we will publish guidance to increase the quantum and consistency of Community Funds and support the launch of industry public communications campaigns to encourage public awareness on the importance of networks infrastructure in supporting net zero.

Planning and consenting

With a prioritised grid queue, we can signal key projects for clean power and speed up planning and consenting processes across Britain. We will ensure communities directly benefit from hosting new clean energy infrastructure. We know that the majority of 2030 clean power projects are already in the pipeline, and so there is therefore a major opportunity in rewiring the planning system and unblocking bottlenecks to ensure projects can receive timely decisions so they can get building.

We will do this first by upgrading the planning system itself, equipping organisations with the flexibility they need to manage the increased caseload it faces. This includes workforce reform and development, as well as a commitment to reviewing resourcing within the system.

Next, we will ensure the system can prioritise 2030-critical projects. We will make 2030 a core priority in updated planning policy vehicles and guidance. We have brought onshore wind back into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime. We will bring forward a Planning and Infrastructure Bill with measures to streamline the delivery of critical infrastructure in the planning process, and convene community, nature and industry groups on complex projects to stress-test them prior to application. In line with Lord Banner’s recommendations, we will also progress work exploring changes to the legal challenge process for major infrastructure projects.

We will ensure that a reformed planning system enhances the restoration of nature. We will do this by delivering the Marine Recovery Fund for Offshore Wind and are considering strategic mitigation approaches for onshore infrastructure in England. The UK government and the Scottish Government are also working together to establish a similar Marine Recovery Fund for projects in Scotland.

Devolved administrations are taking positive steps towards speeding up energy infrastructure planning and consenting too. In Wales, the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 sets out the new consenting process for significant infrastructure projects, replacing multiple consenting processes in Wales with a single process. In Scotland, work is underway to secure the pipeline of future planners and increase skills and capacity within planning authorities. We are working closely with the Scottish Government on reform to deliver a streamlined and efficient legislative framework for electricity infrastructure consenting.

Renewable and nuclear project delivery

Addressing blockages to networks, connections and planning progress will significantly help us deliver the renewable capacity we need for 2030. But there are specific issues to address.

The Contracts for Difference allocation process needs to meet our 2030 ambitions and put an end to the stop-start failures of recent years. We need high levels of renewables to protect consumers and they need to be secured at the best price. Offshore wind has a particularly important role as the backbone of the clean power system.

Following discussions with industry and subject to further assessment, we are minded to implement a package of targeted reforms. We will consider changes to the information the Secretary of State can use to inform the final budget for fixed-bottom offshore wind, an auction schedule to improve transparency and predictability, and review auction parameters, including our approach to the reference prices used to estimate the budgetary impact of bids.To maximise the competitive process, we are also minded to relax eligibility criteria for fixed-bottom offshore wind projects so projects that have yet to obtain full planning consents can participate. We will consult on these changes ahead of Allocation Round 7.

We will leverage Great British Energy, and wider policy measures, to support local and community-led renewable capacity, including for homes, businesses, public buildings and land, and shared spaces. Great British Energy will provide support to deliver the Local Power Plan, putting local authorities and communities at the heart of restructuring our energy economy. It will also align with NESO’s publications and the government’s response to identify locations for new generation projects on private land and undertake development on public land, unlocking scope for generation on government estates.

Solar panels are already an eligible measure in existing programmes like the Warm Homes Local Grant and Warm Homes Social Housing Fund, and we will provide further details on how else solar could be supported in the Warm Homes Plan after the second phase of the Spending Review. We will also assess the potential to drive the construction of solar canopies on outdoor car parks through a call for evidence next year.

We are also committed to nuclear, including the lifetimes of existing nuclear projects where possible, and the development of emerging low carbon and renewable technologies that will play an important role beyond 2030, continuing to recognise that the policy of the Scottish Government is not to support new nuclear developments in Scotland.

Electricity market reform

Reforming the electricity markets will support clean power generation and networks. Reform is vital in ensuring our market arrangements are fit for the 2030s and beyond. We must ensure that the market works in tandem with support schemes to deliver the right investment and operational signals and that any sector-specific barriers to deployment are addressed, to enable the huge volume of deployment that will underpin Clean Power 2030.

A significant increase in short-duration flexibility of 29-35 GW across battery storage, consumer-led flexibility and interconnection capacity from 2023 levels will reduce the amount of more costly generation and associated network infrastructure that needs to be built, whilst maintaining security of supply. Reforming the transmission network charging (Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges) is critical in order to enable the increased deployment of future generation.

The REMA Autumn Update outlines our ambition to conclude the policy development phase of the REMA programme by around mid-2025 and confirms that the timetable for REMA decisions will align with the timetable for the next allocation round (AR7) for the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme in order to reduce uncertainty.

Short-duration energy storage and flexibility

As we build an energy system reliant increasingly on variable renewables, improving the flexibility of the wider electricity system is key. A Low Carbon Flexibility Roadmap will be published next year, with new actions to drive clean power flexibility by 2030. We will introduce new market reforms to provide batteries and consumer-led flexibility with appropriate and fair access to, and utilisation within, relevant markets, and we will consult on how grid-scale batteries could be referenced in future planning reforms, and on including grid-scale batteries within the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

We will consider financing options for retrofit works, including batteries, in the Warm Homes Plan in England. We will consult to remove external display requirements for device meters from the Measuring Instrument regulations, and, in Summer 2025, we will publish a consultation on consumer engagement, including on how to help coordinate and amplify accurate messaging on consumer-led flexibility. We will also consider reform on the Maximum Resale Price and will introduce new Guaranteed Standards of Performance relating to smart metering in 2025.

We will respond to recent consultations on Energy Smart Appliance interoperability, a new licensing regime for service providers for consumer-led flexibility and load controllers, and tariff data accessibility. These will be followed up with detailed consultations on draft ‘first phase’ Energy Smart Appliance legislation, establishing minimum cyber security requirements for appliances in scope and a smart mandate for heat pumps; draft consumer-led flexibility service providers and load controller regulations and licence conditions; and measures to improve time of use tariff data accessibility. We will implement Capacity Market policy proposals, including permitted augmentation of storage, adjustments to Extended Performance Testing Requirements and making 3-year Capacity Markets agreements to low carbon technologies requiring no capital expenditure.

Long-duration flexibility

We are projected to need 40-50 GW of dispatchable and long-duration flexible capacity in 2030 to support our power system in extended periods of low renewable output. We are determined to drive the development of low carbon long-duration flexibility, which presents a substantial opportunity. We have announced Final Investment Decision for Net Zero Teesside, the world’s first at scale gas power plant with carbon capture, and we are also developing a Hydrogen to Power business model which will de-risk investment and bring forward capacity. We also need to scale up deployment of pumped storage hydropower and foster further innovation in more nascent long-duration storage technologies such as liquid air energy storage. The cap and floor scheme, which could open in Q2 2025, will support investment in the sector. Unabated gas will continue to play a back-up role throughout the transition to clean power, ensuring security of supply. This means that we will retain sufficient capacity until it can be safely replaced by low carbon technologies.

Supply chains and workforce

Clean power by 2030 is a signal to investors to locate in the UK and build strong domestic supply chains for key aspects of our clean power system. Actions to support and accelerate delivery will give developers greater route-to-market certainty, but we will go further, including with the forthcoming Industrial Strategy, which will include a sector plan for clean energy industries. We will convene a new supply chains and workforce industry forum for key Clean Power 2030 sectors, including trade unions, to develop a deep understanding of system-level supply chain and workforce planning needs for Clean Power 2030 delivery and devise targeted collective actions to ensure they are met. The Clean Industry Bonus will support manufacturing in coastal and energy communities and cleaner, more sustainable supply chains, while increased transparency and predictability in future Contracts for Difference allocation rounds will support investment. The National Wealth Fund will focus at least £5.8 billion of its capital on green hydrogen, carbon capture, ports, gigafactories and green steel, while Great British Energy will support the growth of clean power supply chains around the UK.

The clean power transition also needs a skilled workforce, with thousands of new jobs throughout low carbon sectors. Details of the Clean Energy Skills Challenge have been published alongside this Plan. The Office for Clean Energy Jobs will work with the sector, trade unions and the devolved governments to support regions transitioning from carbon-intensive industries to clean energy sectors, to ensure jobs are high quality, with fair pay, favourable terms and good working conditions. This work includes targeted interventions to reskill and upskill workers across the economy, supporting access to training schemes, and promoting the opportunities of clean energy jobs so that a lack of skilled workers does not become a bottleneck in the achievement of our Clean Power ambition.

How we will work, as government and with everyone involved, to deliver

The Clean Power 2030 Unit will look across delivery of the key 2030 projects, working to identify blockages and ensuring that the clean power programme stays on track.

To do this we will draw together a mix of skills and experience from government and the clean power sector, underpinned by an Advisory Commission of leading figures from across industry and academia. The Unit will work closely with those involved in practical delivery, including the devolved governments, to cut through issues quickly and to build a comprehensive view of the power infrastructure currently in development.

This insight, coupled with a strong underlying data capability that will bring together data and insight from across government and the clean energy sector, will help understand what is likely to be delivered, by when, and quickly identify emerging challenges. This will help the Unit take rapid action wherever it is needed to ensure delivery.

This Action Plan is our first major step towards Clean Power by 2030. The coming months and years will see a new programme of activity emerge, relying on the work of a wide range of businesses, many parts of government at central, regional and local level across England and the devolved governments, the third sector, communities and individuals.

Read the full policy paper below.