Powering Up Britain: Looking at the Government's Plan for the Future of Energy in the UK

On March 30, the UK government issued the “Powering Up Britain” plan, essentially bringing together an Energy Security Plan with their Net Zero Growth Plan. 2,800 pages of documents outlined the plan for the future of energy in the UK. At Kent, we've been taking our time to pour through the information and let the dust settle after the cacophony of criticism and concerns that this was a ploy by Whitehall to deflect attention from weak net zero promises. We believe the Powering Up Britain plan provides a clear blueprint to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and here's why...

The Energy Security Plan details the steps the government is taking and will take to ensure the UK becomes more energy independent, secure and resilient whilst also driving forward the advancement of renewable energy sources. This includes specific projects in offshore wind, hydrogen, solar and nuclear, as well as looking at how we decarbonise the way we produce conventional forms of energy through carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology.

The Net Zero Growth Plan further details plans to tackle the use (and misuse) of resources, waste prevention, and emissions management from vehicles and greenhouse gases, amongst others.

John Kent, Chief Energy Transition Officer at Kent commented "The world is addicted to energy, and when that energy supply is disrupted, as we’ve seen in the past year, everyone pays the price. For the foreseeable future, oil and gas will need to be part of the solution as we transition to a renewable future. Measures to decarbonise how oil and gas are produced are key to any net zero plan.

Despite some less than ideal positioning that might lead to different views of their climate policy; the UK is still one of the world leaders in renewable energy sources. Particularly offshore wind, hydrogen and committing to carbon capture technology. Although there is little real new funding forthcoming from last week's announcement, there is extra certainty for the many projects at early development phase, many of which we are already engaged in. A key element of the announcement for me was the promise to reform the planning process of energy infrastructure, specifically citing solar and offshore wind, to speed up the process and attract investment. For those involved in making a renewable energy future a reality, like Kent, this is a critical piece of the puzzle and is very welcome."

Everything, everywhere, all at once

We know that to reach net zero targets, the challenges must be tackled from all angles. Advancing renewable energies, decarbonising the old, and every person, and every business taking meaningful steps on their own sustainability journeys. From governments and industry leaders to smart engineers deploying new technologies and everyone else on the planet, we all need to make a conscious effort in how we consume the world's energy and resources. Everything, everywhere, all at once. It's clear that without these actions from all involved, achieving net zero will remain a distant dream rather than a tangible goal worth striving for.

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At Kent, we're breaking new ground in renewable energy through hydrogen, offshore wind and energy storage whilst rolling up our sleeves and tackling the tough work of decarbonising oil and gas production from within. We are proud to assist the UK in achieving its net zero and energy security objectives. A few of the major endeavours we've been part of include:

Hydrogen

At Kent, we've been involved in both Hydrogen Business Model (HBM) and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) projects, like:

• The HyNet Hydrogen Production Plant HPP2, where we delivered Pre-FEED services for Vertex,
• The ongoing Technical Services Agreement to provide Pre-FEED and FEED services for the HyNet Hydrogen Production Plant HPP1.
• The development of Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) to deliver hydrogen at the correct specification and availability for Cadent’s proposed Hydrogen Village project, the first ever in the UK
• Our Safety study in Fluid dynamics for the PosHYdon Project in the North Sea

Offshore Wind

Our Kent Offshore Wind team have been involved in developing 70% of all UK offshore wind farms. Some key projects in this field are:

• The concept designs for Berwick Bank Wind Farm with SSE Renewables.
• The structural design of the WTG and OSP monopiles of Triton Knoll, the First PISA certified monopile design, fully installed and operational
• The FEED and Detailed Design of Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm
• The FEED and Detailed Design of Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm

CCUS

CCUS is a key pillar to the UK’s path to net zero. We've been developing carbon capture technology for over 20 years, most recently at:

• The assessment and selection of carbon capture technology for the UK’s leading hydrogen cluster development, HyNet.
• Hanson Padeswood Cement, where we are currently supporting with OE and PMC services during the FEED phase
• Our work on pre-FEED engineering to develop the facility that will take the CO2 emitted from one of Europe’s largest full-Residue Fluidised Catalytic Cracking units, located at the Stanlow refinery.
• The feasibility and concept selection for the CO2 Transport and Storage facilities, including reutilising the existing pipeline infrastructure of Viking CCS (formerly known as Net Zero Humber Cluster)

Would you like to know more about how we're tackling the greatest challenge of our time in the most responsible way ever imagine? Get in touch: [email protected]