Webinar

In October 2021, the Government announced a target to fully decarbonise the power sector by 2035. Whilst the Government’s ambitions are clear, the pathways and policies required to achieve this target are not yet fully defined. GB’s operational dispatchable capacity currently stands at 56 GW, which delivered over 50% of GB’s electricity in 2020, contributing heavily to both GB’s energy security and affordability for consumers. The lack of clarity on how Net Zero targets are to be achieved threatens the future of dispatchable capacity and thus GB’s energy objectives.

Most of the existing dispatchable capacity fleet is made up of ageing thermal assets which are coming towards the end of their operational life and require critical investment decisions in the near term to secure their future. In the current climate, this investment is not assured, as investors’ confidence has been dented by the lack of clarity on the assets’ future in a decarbonised system, as well as by the practicalities surrounding conversion to CCUS and/or hydrogen and their route to market.

This session aims to explore how the role of dispatchable generation in GB is set to change with Net Zero ambitions, and what potential pathways and policies could support these assets in a decarbonised power system.

Key topics to be explored in the session will include:

• The role of dispatchable assets and how they support the system today
• Pathways for dispatchable assets to adapt to a decarbonised power system
• Government policy considerations and options for dispatchable assets
• The cost of policy obscurity around dispatchable assets and impact on UK energy objectives
• Alternative options to deliver government ambition