Editor: After the government’s disappointing U-turn on net zero, the Autumn Statement is a chance for it to reinvigorate investor confidence and voter trust that it has a suitably urgent plan for tackling climate change.
Many, forced to rethink investment decisions after Rishi Sunak moved the goalposts, would welcome clarity on how the government will increase progress to decarbonise housing and marshal private finance to unlock growth and create business opportunities by decarbonising the UK economy.
The second intervention where more certainty is required is on grid connectivity. The debate has so far focused on how we deliver expensive, long-term, high-voltage transmission capacity to connect large, centralised baseload generation, like nuclear or offshore wind power.
By supporting decentralisation of generation, enabling rooftop solar to be installed on every new-build home, technology can flip this discussion on its head. By making homes more energy efficient and enabling more energy to be generated and consumed locally, decentralised energy technologies cut our reliance on transmission network upgrades.
Decentralised energy technologies are also far cheaper and quicker to build than large infrastructure projects.
The government has a fantastic opportunity to deliver a win-win for consumers and the country by refocusing finite resources on decentralised energy technology at the distribution network level, delivering net zero faster and at less cost to households.
This is the opportunity for the UK to be bolder and braver, and to harness our potential to be a low-carbon superpower for a healthier, wealthier and greener country.
Daniel Burton, founder and chief executive, Wondrwall
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