15 Jul 2023

Energy market analytics company - Aurora says that Britain is not on track to meet the UK government’s renewables targets without innovation.

Aurora’s report echoes recent analysis from the Climate Change Committee, whose Chair - Lord Deben said that ‘the government is failing in much of its implementation’ of its targets. The Public Accounts Committee also recently said it is ‘sceptical’ over whether expansion plans for nuclear, solar and wind is credible.

UK set to miss renewable targets

Aurora warned that installed offshore wind will only reach ‘a little over two thirds of the government’s target by 2030, while installed solar capacity will remain below half of the national target by 2035’.

The UK government has set itself highly challenging electricity generating capacity ambitions for nuclear (24GW by 2050), solar (70GW by 2035) and offshore wind power (50GW by 2030).

UK’s current renewable energy mix

Figures published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) show that the UK currently has just over 15GW of solar, 15GW of onshore wind, 14GW of offshore wind, and smaller amounts of hydro and landfill gas.