The UK has a new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak split up the former super-ministry that ran British energy policy – but kept a politician who previously described onshore wind as an “eyesore”at the helm.
The newly-formed DESNZ replaces the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but will still be led by secretary of state Grant Shapps.
Sunak in a statement said the shake-up “recognises the significant impact rising prices have had on households across the country as a result of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, and the need to secure more energy from domestic nuclear and renewable sources as we seize the opportunities of net zero”.
The new department has been charged with “securing our long-term energy supply, bringing down bills and halving inflation”.
Among other policy areas, DESNZ will be responsible for overseeing the UK’s massive annual renewable power auctions that are designed to drive the nation to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, up from about 13GW now.
It will also be instrumental in helping ease restrictions on onshore wind power that have curtailed growth in England since 2015, with Shapps as recently as 2022 describing onshore turbines as “eyesores”.
Despite his previous statements about wind power, the retention of Shapps at the top of energy policy at least offers some continuity, given that he only took on the former BEIS role in October 2022.
The UK green energy sector will now hope he implements the recommendations of Chris Skidmore, a fellow Conservative MP who in a major report for Sunak said Britain needs a “wind and solar revolution”.
The UK Renewable Energy Association said: “An energy department with a focus on Net Zero is welcome, as long as the government now hits the ground running and avoids the usual delays while new departments are established.
“Decision making in the sector has already been woefully delayed over the last few years, and a joined-up approach across these new departments is essential, as well as implementing the recommendations from Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Report, which clearly stated that Net Zero is the largest growth opportunity of the 21st century.”
Shapps has previously been an occasionally controversial character in British politics because of his use of the alias Michael Green to carry on internet-based business activities early in his political career.
