Why should we transition to renewable energy? 

As part of their election campaign earlier this year, Labour committed to providing clean energy by 2030 (click here). They acknowledge that we have an abundance of opportunities for growth in this sector. We have a vast length of coastline, high winds and highly skilled offshore workers.  

The use of non-renewable energy sources, such as oil and gas, has long been linked to an increase in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Since renewable energy sources emit low (or sometimes even no) emissions, they are considered a vital weapon in the fight against the climate crisis. 

What are we currently doing? 

We currently generate renewable energy from four main sources; water, wind, solar and bioenergy.According to the National Grid, renewable energy sources outperformed traditional fossil fuel generation with 51% of total electricity used. This is in comparison to 32% from gas and 1% from coal. Of that 51%, 29.4% of our total energy production came from wind power. 

The National Grid states that the UK is on track to continue to increase our renewable energy production. There are plans in place to increase both wind and solar generation. By combining renewable with other low emission energy (e.g. nuclear) the National Grid believe that we are heading towards the government’s target of all energy being produced by zero carbon methods by 2035.