The business demand – and investment impetus – for green energy is growing

Delivering the clean energy system we need over the next five to six years will demand many things: a five-fold increase in flexibility in the system, a four-fold increase in the number of battery storage units hooked up to the grid, alongside significant growth in wind and solar.

To give an idea of what is required – all of the renewable development we’ve seen in the last 25 years will need to be doubled, tripled and quadrupled again in the next four or five years. That is incredible.

If we can achieve that, then by 2030 roughly 80% of energy generation and consumption in the UK will be from renewable sources. That’s a significant ambition – not to mention a worthy one – but at the moment the jury is out on whether we’ll get there, and people are just a little bit unsure about whether all the pieces are in place to make those changes happen.

From speaking to both business customers and independent generators, we know the desire is definitely there but also that it needs some help along the way: primarily in speeding up planning decisions, and in freeing access to grid connections.

One really important note is that businesses will want the confidence – as will domestic consumers – that going on this super-accelerated path doesn't end up costing us more than perhaps a slightly slower path.

We know that because we’re a significant presence at both ends of the market here. We supply power and gas and other services to a great many of Britain’s biggest businesses, but we also provide services for independent generators, giving them a route to market and a connection to those business customers.

Our latest report Clean power 2030: Harnessing the power of the UK's independent energy generators looks at just this issue and reflects their views – primarily that without moving the planning blockers and cutting red tape, this is going to be more difficult than it needs to be.

The good news is businesses want that renewable energy. Our latest Business Energy Tracker report shows they want to be able to invest, they want policy certainty over the medium term because they're used to investing and planning returns. The generators also want the policy landscape and the planning landscape to match. Our survey has really unearthed some of the critical pieces that will help get to a net clean energy system by 2030.

From a business side, whether it’s fed by ESG targets, carbon and cost pressures or security of supply demands, there's a massive pull for it, they just need policy to give them the confidence to make the necessary investment. And on the generator side, there are projects in the pipelines to meet the demand for renewable energy from commercial customers.

What we're finding is there's just too much red tape slowing things down. That, I think, is the critical point that needs to be addressed. This means that policy decisions made over the next 12 months will be crucial.

You can read the full report Clean Power 2030: Harnessing the power of the UK’s independent energy generators here: https://npowerbusinesssolutions.com/voiceofgenerators2024