The urgency of infrastructure delivery, not just energy targets, supply chain collaboration, and a whole systems approach

Stantec UK has responded to the UK Government’s Energy Security Strategy, published on April 7. The strategy focuses on nuclear new build, increased renewables targets, removing the reliance on foreign gas supplies with a boost in North Sea oil and gas projects, and a new governmental body to oversee energy resilience.   

Headline statements include:

• Government to create new Future System Operator (FSO) to boost security and resilience of UK energy supplies
• Increased target from 40GW to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 – 5GW to come from floating offshore technology; and a reform of planning laws to speed up new offshore approvals
• A consultation on "partnerships with a limited number of supportive communities" for the building of onshore wind turbines in exchange for guaranteed lower energy bills
• A potential target of up to 8 new nuclear reactors by 2030, including 2 at Sizewell, with a new body, Great British Nuclear, to oversee delivery of new power plants
• Hydrogen generation target doubled to 10GW by 2030
• Expansion of UK's own oil and gas supplies, with new licensing round for North Sea projects in the summer
• £30m heat pump investment accelerator competition to make British heat pumps and reduce demand for gas

John Ord, Director of Energy and Resources, at Stantec, said: “The key to unlocking our renewable future is not simply through the construction of new nuclear and the massive expansion of wind and solar, but being able to move electricity and store excess energy. To generate massive more amounts of renewable energy, we need the integrated infrastructure to move it to where and when it is required. We welcome the strategy’s comments relating to the Holistic Network Design and the Centralised Strategic Network Plant, acknowledging that our Transmission- and Distribution Network Operators need to work collaboratively on a nationwide solution. These comments align well with digitalisation strategies outlined by network operators in their RIIO2 business plans.

On energy storage, John added: “We welcome comments concerning the need for flexible large scale, long duration energy storage and the encouragement of these system through appropriate policies. Local battery storage clearly provides local energy buffering; but we haven’t invested in large scale energy storage for decades. With the expansion of renewable generation comes the need for large scale storage to address generation intermittency at the national level. Nuclear will provide national level baseload, and local storage will play a pivotal role in local demand management. There is now a clear need for national scale large and long duration storage to provide for periods of low renewable generation.”

Commenting on the increased renewables targets, John Ord, Director of Energy and Resources, said: “Key to delivering this sizeable increase to 50GW (from an already ambitious target) will be not only the proposed faster planning process with buy-in from key stakeholders, but also a dedicated supply chain of components for construction and the ability to connect offshore wind to the transmission network. The aim of the strategy is to deliver more high level Strategic Environmental Assessments rather than focussing on impacts and issues from single project. However, it will be important to meet the balance of delivery vs environmental protection. Our transmission network is under significant pressure and needs huge amount of upgrade and new infrastructure so that 50GW can be distributed where it is needed. This is recognised in the strategy, in particular with the Electricity Networks Commissioner, but it remains to be seen if this goes far enough and allows appropriate acceleration of complex OHL infrastructure.”

Commenting on nuclear, Amer Rafique, Business Director, Energy, said: “Previous challenges for nuclear new build projects have included financial risk relating to the inability to agree a tariff that recognised whole life cost, of which uncertainty of long-term decommissioning costs was a key issue. The UK strategy has now further developed over the years and from earlier thinking, with concepts for the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). It may well be that financing might find more comfort in a better view of whole life nuclear lifecycle cost; by providing increased certainty on final disposal costs, we might provide a better basis for tariff negotiation. The sector should push on now with nuclear waste disposal/GDF planning and permitting in parallel with nuclear new build.”

For the land development sector, the strategy does not address the ever increasing cost of connection due to grid constraints. It will be interesting to see how the role of the FSO develops in derisking growth, especially with the electric revolution in heating and electricity. The Energy Security Strategy aligns with land development opportunities where renewables, such as a wind turbine on a development scheme, would be a value added benefit to future new communities. The power of supportive communities in the face of new onshore generation projects will be crucial to our infrastructure sector and help address our housing crisis.

About Stantec
Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

We care about the communities we serve—because they're our communities too. This allows us to assess what's needed and connect our expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision what's never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so we can collaborate toward a shared success.

We're designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

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Media Contact                                               
Alicia de Haldevang                                                                  
Stantec Media Relations                                 
Alicia.dehaldevang@stantec.com