Sourcing Renewables - October 5, 2021
UK Advances Toward 100% RE Use Country-Wide by 2035
The United Kingdom could power its entire electricity system on renewable energy by 2035.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this development at the Conservative Party conference on Oct. 4, according to S&P Global. This would build on the government’s previous target to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 since 1990 levels.
To reach these targets, S&P Global reported that the UK is increasing its offshore wind capacity to 40 GW by 2030, up from 11 GW in 2021. The government is also targeting 5 GW of low- or zero-carbon hydrogen production by 2030.
The use of renewables in the UK has more than doubled since 2014 and in 2020 they accounted for 43% of the country’s power generation. Wind capacity is set to double by 2026, while natural gas demand grew to be the largest power generation source during periods of low wind.
Gas-fired generation is estimated to make up only 33% of demand by 2026. Additionally, nuclear energy use is decreasing; the energy source reduced from 21% of the domestic supply in 2016 to 16% in 2020.
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