While factions of the country remain adamant that clean energy is costing taxpayers unnecessarily, new evidence shows the transition is actually reducing costs.
Research conducted by University College London shows that between 2010 and 2023 shows that at least £147billion has been cut from the cost of powering the UK.
£14.2billion of this can directly be attributed to wind power generating cheaper electricity at the meter. However, the majority – £133.3billion – is a result of reductions in the price of oil caused by lower demand for fossil fuels.
While Britain’s growing clean energy sector helped ease pressure on oil and gas supplies, it’s when the whole European picture is taken into consideration that the extent of the impact becomes clear.
Combined, renewable power across the British Isles, Nordic nations, EU states and countries in Eastern Europe meant there was less investment into costly fossil fuel production, including constructing power stations. However, those behind the report note that the period studied does not cover the long-term impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to a huge spike in energy costs across the entire region.
‘Far from being a financial burden, this study demonstrates how wind generation has consistently delivered substantial financial benefits to the UK,’ said Colm O’Shea, lead author of the report.
‘To put it into context, this net benefit of £104 billion is larger than the additional £90 billion the UK has spent on gas since 2021 as a result of rising prices related to the war in Ukraine,’ he continued. ‘This study demonstrates why we should reframe our understanding of green investment from costly environmental subsidy to a high-return national investment.’
However, as Renewables UK noted, the paper has been published in same week as Downing Street took steps to cut the level of support for clean energy development to £1.1billion. Earlier this month, the world produced more renewable electricity than coal for the first time in history.
Image: Mike Setchell / Unsplash
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