Hornsea could signal the start of a low-carbon industrial strategy

This week’s decision to award planning permission for the 1.8 GW Hornsea Project Two development in the North Sea is a vital signal from the government, showing at last the beginnings of an industrial strategy based around low-carbon technology. By approving the 300-turbine farm, Greg Clark has signalled that his new department plans to continue with the next CfD auction this year, offering much needed support to UK offshore wind at a time when coherent energy policy is hard to come by.

Since shaking off the Lib Dems at the 2015 election, the Conservatives have made more than 15 changes to UK energy policy, many of which damaged the short-term economic outlook of the renewable power industry. While the removal of support for onshore wind was a manifesto pledge, cutting solar feed-in-tariffs, scrapping the ROC a year early and changing the climate change levy took the energy sector by surprise. Nuclear, however, seemed a steady bet, until the shock review into Hinkley announced just hours after EDF finally made an investment decision.

Observing the political and media fallout from Theresa May’s intervention, perhaps stemming from a five-fold increase in subsidy costs, chronic delays at sister plants in Finland and Normandy and the absence of a functioning EPR reactor anywhere in the world, it would be possible to conclude that the UK was in a bit of a pickle. However, building on a world-leading position in offshore wind could begin to address this.

Now, nobody is seriously claiming that wind alone can replace Hinkley Point. There will always be a few winter days when wind speeds are low and even an arsenal of turbines can’t fully supply the grid. However, instead of piling unfathomable amounts of money into a white elephant, the UK should look to a range of technologies instead. A combination of new renewable capacity, already proposed links to Norway and the European mainland and new nuclear based on proven, lower cost technology could easily fuel the UK’s thirst for energy, while demand-side response and a small amount of new CCGT capacity could ensure that the lights stay on during even the coldest winter.