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The boss of one of Britain’s biggest energy companies has called on whoever wins the general election to “face up” the practical and bureaucratic problems holding back the UK’s green transition.
Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish Power, said ministers needed to tackle issues ranging from skills shortages to lengthy planning and procurement processes that were slowing the development of projects such as hydrogen power stations and power cables.
“We had a lot of reviews. . . a lot of conversations,” he told the Financial Times. “What has really changed? Nothing.
“We still use the same processes, we still have the same conversations. Nothing has changed. Nothing is faster and nothing is different.”
Scottish Power, part of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, owns and invests in wind turbines, electricity grids and solar panels across the country, as well as supplying power to around 4.6 million homes.
Anderson, who sits on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s council of business advisers, said the UK had a “colossal” opportunity in clean energy but needed to “put itself at the forefront”.
“My frustration is that there are easy answers that don’t cost money,” he added, highlighting reforms such as the planning system as one area that could make a big difference.
“Fundamentally, this process isn’t working right — you’re looking at these huge, big infrastructure projects; we have to move faster [ . . .] short-circuit the process and get everyone in the room.”
Skills shortages were another area of concern, he said. “We have to move on this before it becomes a massive restriction.”
His comments reflect wider concerns in the energy sector that the UK is not ready to meet its ambitious decarbonisation targets.
The UK has made a legal commitment to reduce its emissions to net zero by 2050, with the Sunaku government setting an interim target of decarbonising the electricity system by 2035.
The opposition Labor Party, which leads the polls ahead of the July 4 general election, wants to do so by 2030. Both call for a rapid increase in renewable energy generation, with Labor aiming to quadruple offshore wind, triple solar and double offshore wind capacity .
Aurora Energy Research said in a report published in March that the UK is “well off course” for both the 2030 and 2035 targets and decarbonisation of the energy system will not be achieved until 2051 without “significant policy change and market interventions”.
The 2035 target required “significant new interventions”, the guidance added, although this was “likely not feasible” earlier.
If elected, Labor has pledged to set up a new state-owned energy company, Great British Energy, to help promote renewables through joint investment with the private sector.
Anderson urged her to focus on less advanced technologies and areas where “government can make the biggest difference,” adding: “If you’re just another bank, I don’t need another bank. The planning process will not change that.’
He stressed that parent company Iberdrola was “incredibly supportive” of the UK, but noted that the country faced competition from around the world.
“If Spain or America move faster, the money will flow there faster,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t spend money in the UK.”
“But I’d rather spend this year, next year and the year after that than have to wait five years to get something through the planning system.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said the Conservatives had taken “bold steps to increase grid-connected renewables by 500% since 2010” and were “supporting £100bn of investment in the energy industry”.
Labor said it was confident its plan to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030 could be met, pointing out that the target had been backed by Sir Patrick Vallance, the former chief scientific adviser. Her plans would “reduce bills and make our country energy independent”, the spokesman added.