General election reaction from Browne Jacobson’s energy and infrastructure team

Solar power

The commitment to tripling solar power via support from the private sector is certainly to be welcomed, though it’ll be interesting to see whether the new Government will provide better tax relief in order to incentivise corporates and take advantage of the opportunities here.

Onshore wind

With onshore wind back on the cards, steps must be taken in order to create a smooth planning process for the private sector. It’s well noted that NIMBYism can hold green energy projects back, and it’s down to the new Government to smooth things over and convince local communities via subsidies and investment in order to hit their target.

Offshore wind

The target of quadrupling offshore wind is ambitious to be sure, but a vital step in reaching net zero. However, there are real questions which need answering over the logistics of delivering offshore wind to this degree. Additional investment and building an expansive workforce to actualise these projects are absolutely crucial.

Green hydrogen

Green hydrogen is set to play a vital role in the future of energy, so it’s great to see movement towards this. We’re still in the early days of green hydrogen, and untrodden ground brings risk - the use of new and innovative technology used in the production of green hydrogen may create challenges in terms of financing and insurability of these projects. 

Grid connections

For any boom in green energy to occur, investment in the national grid is essential. Labour’s commitment to develop grid connections is very much needed, and must go hand-in-hand with any investment into green projects themselves. The queue for grid connections isn’t exactly short, and unless there is a serious effort to cut this, it’ll be a number of decades before we see the benefits of the promises made. 

Nuclear

Much like hydrogen, there are so many opportunities in nuclear for the future of energy in the UK, but there needs to be a long-term strategy with serious investment. The Government has promised to see the Hinkley Point C project through but having faced serious delays and proving to be more costly than planned, lessons must be learnt from this on future nuclear site planning. 

Electric vehicles and charging infrastructure

The restored ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 is a huge step in the Government’s commitment to net zero, but one which requires a lot of additional groundwork in order to successfully facilitate a transition to EVs. Sure – this gives manufacturers a degree of certainty in terms of their future production lines, but without effective charging infrastructure for EVs across the UK, consumers may struggle. The Government has promised to boost installation of charging points, but without any stated target, a big question mark remains over whether what’s delivered will be enough.

Comments below from Emma Hinton, Partner at Browne Jacobson

Green Finance

Labour’s support for open banking and open finance to promote innovation is certainly to be welcomed. However, there are some clear opportunities missed, such as a clear commitment to support businesses, particularly SMEs, on their net-zero journeys. Initiatives through grants and tax incentives could be used to massively accelerate and support British businesses to reduce the costs of investing in energy efficiency measures, on-site renewable energy generation, and innovation in materials and manufacturing.