Supply chain issues dominate discussions around renewables, nuclear and hydrogen technologies and projects at Energy Industries Council gathering.
London, 9 Feb 2024 — The Energy Industries Council (EIC) hosted on Thursday "The Future of Power Generation in the UK" event at RSM UK, London. Gathering industry experts and thought leaders, the event dissected the UK's commitment to a diverse, low-carbon energy future, spotlighting renewable sources, nuclear potential, and hydrogen's role in tomorrow's energy mix.
In the first session, focused on renewables, DNV's Nicholas Skeen spoke of the urgent need to amplify wind power generation. “Supply chain is an issue blocking the energy transition,” he said, adding that to achieve net-zero targets power generation from wind needs to quadruple by 2030, which is not happening.
He said supply chain capacity is not impacted by lack of technology but rather by lack of adequate investment and slow process of granting licenses for projects to be executed.
Continuing the theme, Kieren Lake from Siemens Energy – addressing the concluding session on “What are the Next Steps?” – highlighted the urgency for the UK to expedite its energy transition efforts. While acknowledging the appropriateness of the UK's targets, Lake spoke of the need for rapid implementation and consistent project pipelines to meet these goals. He pointed out the current shortfall in capacity, underscoring the inherent time lag in expanding facilities and training personnel. Lake warned that without accelerating the pace of development, the growing capacity might still fall short of the nation's ambitious energy objectives.
The second session featured insights from EIC analyst Aadam Sufi and Nuclear AMRC's Andrew Storer. Discussions revolved around the operational timelines of major reactors and the ambitious nuclear project targets set for the next two decades. Storer highlighted the critical need for faster design assessments and governmental decisiveness to unlock nuclear energy's full potential.
In session three, on conventional power and the role of hydrogen, Chet Biliyok, from Petrofac, and DNV’s Sarah Kimpton, spotlighted hydrogen as a multifaceted solution for fuelling transport, generating electricity, and powering industries.
The sessions were hosted by EIC President Campbell Keir and Rebecca Groundwater, EIC’s head of external affairs.
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Notes to editors:
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