UK govt cut 2025 renewable capacity projections by 12 GW - analysis

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has drastically cut its projections for new renewable power capacity over the next decade, Carbon Brief said yesterday.

An analysis of DECC's 2015 energy and emissions projections by Carbon Brief shows that the government now expects 22 GW of new renewable capacity to be installed by 2025, down by more than a third from the 34 GW forecast last year.

The projections were published last week on the day energy secretary Amber Rudd delivered her policy reset speech that prioritised gas and nuclear. The table shows the difference in gigawatts expected between the DECC forecast released this month and the one from a year ago, as calculated by Carbon Brief.

Richard Nourse, Greencoat Capital managing partner, was cited as saying that under the new forecasts only 10 GW of new renewables will be built during the 2020s. With the government looking to support up to 10 GW of offshore wind over the decade, there will be no room for other renewables, Carbon Brief said.

At the same time, DECC has increased its projections for new-build gas and interconnector capacity. The forecast for new-build gas by 2035 has been lifted to 27 GW from 16 GW last year.

Carbon Brief has asked DECC to comment on the analysis, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

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