<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/uk-maps-out-pathways-to-clean-grid-by-2030-three-fold-increase-in-wind-and-solar-and-no-new-nuclear/>
"The system operator for the United Kingdom’s electricity grid has released its
pathways to reach a “clean energy system” by the end of this decade, and it
involves a three-fold increase in wind and solar capacity and a significant
decrease in nuclear.
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) presents two pathways to achieving
Clean Power by 2030 which it defines as reducing fossil fuel services to less
than five per cent gas, and exporting more than it imports.
Both include significant increases in renewables, mostly offshore wind in one
scenario, and with a greater share of onshore wind and solar in the other.
“We present two main pathways to clean power in 2030. Both involve increased
electrification of heat, transport and industry – a reductionist approach that
slows down electrification to lessen the challenge of clean power would
undermine the core objectives of cutting energy costs and supporting net zero,”
it says.
“One pathway, Further Flex and Renewables, sees 50 GW of offshore wind and no
new dispatchable plants. The other, New Dispatch, has 43 GW of offshore wind
and new dispatchable plants (totalling 2.7 GW, using either hydrogen from low
carbon sources or carbon capture and storage (CCS).”
However, the real significance of the document is that the pathways include no
new nuclear power capacity, despite the fact that the UK is an established
nuclear power and operates several nuclear power plants. In fact, the assumed
nuclear power capacity will fall by up to 43 per cent by the end of the decade.
This, of course, is contrary to the story spun out by nuclear boosters in
Australia and elsewhere. But for all the talk about a global nuclear
renaissance, it is not really happening – and any increase in construction in
some markets is being dwarfed, more than 100 times over, by new investments in
wind, solar and storage."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
