50 England & Wales
92 Updates and Recent Developments
9.1 Please provide a summary of any recent cases , new legislation and regulations , policy announcements , trends and developments in renewables in your jurisdiction .
The government published its Ten Point Plan and the Energy White Paper in Q4 2020 , the Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan in July 2021 and the Net Zero Strategy in October 2021 , setting out its plan for the energy transition , including developing a smart system framework to build a flexible grid and allocating further funding for offshore wind , hydrogen and other renewables investments – all to drive its net-zero energy system . The Ten Point Plan and the Energy White Paper are discussed in detail in question 1.3 . The government has supplemented the Ten Point Plan and the Energy White Paper with its Powering Up Britain policy paper which sets out how the government will promote energy , consumer , climate and economic security through a resilient energy sector .
The government intends to implement these policies through its flagship energy legislation , the Energy Security Bill , which is currently progressing through Parliament . If it enters into law , the Energy Security Bill will create a number of new incentives and will , it is hoped , fast-track investment in novel technologies such as green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage , and will facilitate the shift towards an increasingly electrified and decarbonised energy mix .
There is mainstream political consensus in the UK that is committed to increasing renewable generation capacity . However , throughout 2022 energy consumers were faced with record high energy prices which has fuelled the argument that the UK should pivot from promoting renewable energy ( that is often perceived as being more expensive ) to incentivise increased domestic production of fossil fuels with a view to reducing domestic fuel prices . The UK government ’ s stated strategy ( in the Powering Up Britain policy paper ) is to both maximise production of oil and gas in the UK whilst also increasing support for the development of renewable energy projects to ensure energy security ( and , by extension , insulate against global price inflation ).
The case of R . ( on the application of Substation Action Save East Suffolk Ltd ) v Secretary of State for Business , Energ y and Industrial Strateg y [ 2022 ] EWHC 3177 ( Admin ) concerned the Secretary of State ’ s decision to consent to the construction of two offshore windfarms and the associated developments . The English High Court determined that the Secretary of State had properly considered the flood risk assessment , noise impacts , generating capacity , and alternative sites to reach a valid decision to grant development consent orders for the construction of the wind farms .
In Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energ y AS v GE Energ y ( UK ) Ltd [ 2022 ] EWHC 3034 the Patents Court found that Siemens ’ European patent , which related to the use of bearings in rotor hubs for wind turbines , was invalid . The Court also said that , even if the patent had been valid , there would not have been any infringement as the turbines were used offshore on Dogger Bank which is not within the territorial reach of the Patents Act 1977 which applies to acts done under the Continental Shelf Act 1964 or the Petroleum Act 1998 . The dispute was settled in March 2023 and although the terms of the settlement were not made public , it has been reported that the companies and their affiliates will receive cross-licences to use the patents that were the subject of the dispute .
Renewable energy made up over 41 % of the UK ’ s electricity generation in 2022 . In Q1 2023 , wind power generation exceeded generation from natural gas in the UK for the first time , with 42 % of overall electricity generation coming from renewable sources .
If the UK government continues to promote investment in renewable energy technology , we expect these records to be broken repeatedly in the short term . We also expect that electric vehicles , residential solar and battery storage will continue to gain prominence in the UK as a medium for the ongoing transformation of the energy sector .
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Renewable Energy 2024