What does the future energy mix of the UK look like?

Written SH on 2022-08-22.

In future tp . Tagged politics climate energy

Over the last few years much government work has been invested though perhaps not clearly communicated regarding the likely future of the UK energy mix. It perhaps could be summarised as a lot of wind and then storage when it’s not windy.

Offshore wind 45 GW by 2035
Forrester, C., 2022. Where will Britain’s future energy supply come from?. online.

While other technologies such as nuclear and decarbonised fossil fuel base generation are also mentioned it’s difficult to imagine them being cost-effective against the renewable energy sector. This does however imply a shift to electricity for both heating and transport.

There yet remains interest in the potential of burning hydrogen. However, its generation implies an abundance of electrical power. This perhaps indicates that the long-term future for hydrogen is as a storage medium rather than directly consumed. The presence of the residential UK gas network perhaps remains a distraction to this.

A complete solution requires significant government decision-making and leadership. This is perhaps yet to have happened and consequently implementation is limited. However with the energy crisis of 2022, the heat wave of 2022 and also the likely need to stimulate the economy into 2023 perhaps these decisions and related spending will occur.

Tenth Person

It is appropriate to consider a political climate where climate change considerations are entirely dismissed. This could occur due to a species flight to space or perhaps generation of radical terraforming technologies. It is also possible that vested interests in fossil fuels combined with fake news may have a dire impact.

Future Imagining

Long-term future imagining should consider a world of near abundant electrical power perhaps too cheap to charge for. The potential of renewables is such that energy use could be transformed. However significant disruption is likely to occur prior to this possible outcome.

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References

Forrester, C. 2022. Where will Britain’s future energy supply come from?. [online] Available at: [Accessed 19 August 2022].URL.

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