New analysis has found that two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the UK has only managed to meet three of ten major commitments it made to boost its energy security.
“The UK has had two energy security strategies within two years and we’re still going backwards, becoming more dependent on foreign imports,” said Jess Ralston, an analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
The UK has spent more than £100bn ($126bn) on gas following the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion, she said, “with the bill payer and taxpayer bearing the brunt.”
The failings identified by the ECIU, a UK non-profit, include the government not being on track to insulate the 450,000 homes, a commitment it made to reduce energy waste and so the need to import foreign gas.
And despite committing to holding auctions to agree new offshore wind farms annually, “since the report it has only managed to secure two new offshore wind farms, and none at the last auction in 2023.”
The government has increased and extended a grant for heat pumps, but ECIU said it has also delayed a market mechanism that provides boiler manufacturers with heat pump sales targets.
The government is meanwhile putting a bill through Parliament that will see new auctions held for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, despite the UK oil and gas regulator describing this as “unnecessary.”
“The cold truth is the North Sea is in ongoing decline so unless we shift away from gas we’ll have to rely increasingly on imports,” said Ralston.
“We either make the switch to electric heat pumps powered by British renewables or stick with gas boilers running increasingly on foreign gas.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s “U-turning on insulation standards and heat pumps is leaving the UK less energy independent,” she said.
“And his Government’s policy failures in securing new offshore wind farms mean the UK could miss out on twenty-two times more homegrown electricity than could be generated by gas from new North Sea licences.”
“If it genuinely wants greater energy security it’s prioritising the wrong things.”
