Wärtsilä launched an analysis, highlighting that flexibility is the key to unlock higher levels of renewables in the next 10 years and enable a pathway to a net-zero energy system by 2050 or before.
Namely, the technology major considers that investment in flexible energy technologies, such as battery energy storage and advanced flexible gas, can rapidly increase the share of renewable generation in the UK by 2030 at a lower overall cost to consumers.
According to the report, adding 7GW flexibility to the UK power system by 2030, can deliver a higher share of renewable generation (62%) than could be possible by adding wind and solar without flexibility.
In fact, this flexible scenario could power more than 710,000 more households with renewable energy, cut 2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and cost the UK GBP 270 million less every year by 2030.
The analysis models three scenarios based on the current UK electricity system, energy policy, government pledges on renewable energy growth and predicted growth in renewable generation capacity, to help pin-point the immediate actions the UK can take to accelerate the most cost-effective shift to renewable energy by 2030.
The Wärtsilä Energy Transition Lab Report notes three scenarios for increasing renewable energy generation in the UK to 2030. These scenarios model:
- achieving 40GW of offshore wind by 2030, as pledged by Boris Johnson, together with an anticipated 7GW of new onshore wind and 20GW of solar
- adding the same new renewable generation capacity plus 3GW of new nuclear
- an alternative scenario with significant new flexibility (7GW) to enable more new renewables (72GW total wind and solar) without increasing costs compared to adding renewables only.
Speeding up the transition to renewable energy does not need to cost more, in fact it can cost less.
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