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The UK needs to significantly ramp up its renewables output and scale up grid capacity if it is to meet national net-zero and climate targets.
England could produce 13-times more renewable electricity than it is currently while using less than 3% of its total land mass, according to new research conducted by the University of Exeter, commissioned by environmental group Friends of the Earth (FOE).
The analysis finds that, excluding national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, higher-grade agricultural land and heritage sites, the country has 295,000 hectares of suitable land available for the development of solar and wind power projects.
If this land was utilised appropriately, new projects could generate 130,421 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of solar power and 95,542GWh of onshore wind energy, far exceeding the current land-based UK renewables capacity of 17,063GWh, the study finds.
The study emphasied that the UK needs to significantly ramp up its renewables output and scale up grid capacity if it is to meet national net-zero and climate targets. Currently, the UK has a target to cut CO2 emissions by 68% by the end of the decade.
According to the country’s grid operator, National Grid ESO, England needs to double the amount of clean electricity it currently produces by 2030 if it is to keep pace with the global energy transition and successfully phase out fossil fuels. |
