In response to soaring energy prices, the UK has proposed a new energy strategy plan, including expanding wind power, solar and hydrogen energy construction, and another focus is to make nuclear energy make a comeback.
The goal is to significantly increase the number of nuclear energy installations by 2050 To 24GW, about 8 new nuclear reactors will be built.
According to the new energy plan, the United Kingdom plans to vigorously promote the development of nuclear energy. To this end, a new institution, Great British Nuclear, has been established.
The goal is to increase the capacity of installations from 7GW to 24GW in 2050, and increase the proportion of nuclear energy to 25% with 8 new nuclear reactor. The government has now released two advanced nuclear reactors at Wylfa in Anglesey and Sizewell in Cumbria, and hopes to greenlight one reactor each year by 2030.
UK’s Renewable Energy Plans
The UK’s current offshore wind installation capacity is 11GW. The original target was 40GW. Now it has been raised to 50GW.
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) said that it will be able to power every British household by then. In contrast, the UK has not set any targets for onshore wind power.
Although onshore wind power is one of the cheapest renewable energy sources, because the British government stopped subsidies in 2015, it also proposed stricter development rules. Shang also frequently receives complaints from the community about the noise of wind turbines, and there are fewer and fewer onshore wind power projects.
In the future, the UK will also expand its hydrogen energy base. The hydrogen energy capacity will reach 10GW in 2030. It will also accelerate oil and gas planning, and new plans will be launched as soon as this autumn. The report pointed out that the government is aware of the importance of fuels for energy security, and the carbon footprint of natural gas produced in the UK is also lower than that of foreign imports.
However, some scholars believe that in addition to open source, expenditure should also be reduced. It is unbelievable that the government has not proposed any policy to improve energy efficiency. They believe that improving energy efficiency can effectively reduce carbon emissions and reduce the burden of electricity bills on family homes.
Naturally, there are voices against the expansion of nuclear energy construction. For example, the construction cost is high and the construction time is long.
It takes a long time for a nuclear power plant to be approved, started to operate, and it is impossible to reduce emissions and reduce energy costs. Chairman Tom Greatrex believes this is an important step towards achieving the UK’s climate goals and could lead to thousands of jobs.
