The uk clean power plan

The briefing analyzes pathways from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), National Grid, and Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) to demonstrate that the UK power sector can be nearly fossil-free by 2035. It argues that phasing out unabated gas will reduce reliance on expensive imports, lower electricity bills, and stimulate a green industrial revolution. While the models differ on the roles of nuclear and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), they agree on the centrality of wind and solar power and the need for increased energy storage and hydrogen capacity.

• Three independent expert groups—the Climate Change Committee (CCC), National Grid, and the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC)—agree that the UK power sector can be more than 99% fossil free by 2035 or before without risking security of supply.
• The CCC's 'Balanced Net Zero Pathway' recommends that the burning of unabated natural gas for electricity generation be completely phased out by 2035, with low-carbon generation increasing from 50% to 100% in that timeframe.
• National Grid's 2021 Future Energy Scenarios indicate that all pathways meeting UK climate targets require less than 1% unabated fossil fuels by 2035, with wind and solar providing at least 80% of power generation.
• Modeling by the Energy Systems Catapult for Good Energy suggests a more accelerated timeline where a fully decarbonised electricity grid is achieved by 2030, with renewables accounting for 84% of generation.
• A transition to clean power is expected to turn the UK into a significant net exporter of electricity by 2035, with exports estimated between 65-111 TWh, or 15-20% of domestic generation.
• While models agree on the dominance of renewables, they diverge on the necessity of nuclear and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS); the CCC views dispatchable gas with CCS as an important counterbalance to variable renewables, whereas the ESC model envisions a system without nuclear or CCS.

APA

MacDonald, P., & Lytton, W. (2021). The uk clean power plan. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/09/Ember-Report-The-UK-Clean-Power-Plan.pdf

Chicago

MacDonald, Phil, and Wilf Lytton. The uk clean power plan. Ember, 2021. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/09/Ember-Report-The-UK-Clean-Power-Plan.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MacDonald |first1=Phil |last2=Lytton |first2=Wilf |title=The uk clean power plan |publisher=Ember |date=September 2021 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/09/Ember-Report-The-UK-Clean-Power-Plan.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{macdonald2021clean, author = {MacDonald, Phil and Lytton, Wilf}, title = {{The uk clean power plan}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/09/Ember-Report-The-UK-Clean-Power-Plan.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }