CCC urges government to pick up pace on decarbonising power

The report contains insights on the importance of developing a climate-resilient power system, and detailed modelling to illustrate requirements of the 2035 system using historical weather data, stress-tested with an extreme scenario of a prolonged period of low wind.

The CCC outlines 25 new recommendations to improve the prospects of delivery. It argues that alongside the government’s Energy Security Strategy commitments to renewables and nuclear, we need new low-carbon back-up generation, with hydrogen-based power stations and some continued use of fossil gas made low-carbon through use of carbon capture and storage.

We also need sharp shifting of consumer demand to help smooth peaks and absorb excess supply, CCC said, especially through controlled timing of electric vehicle charging and use of heat pumps.

Additionally, it calls for new storage solutions beyond the use of batteries, highlighting the most critical as the utilisation of surplus generation to produce hydrogen through electrolysis (‘green hydrogen’) providing long-term storage so it can later be used to generate electricity.