Labour’s ambitions to decarbonise the UK’s entire electricity grid by 2030 is at the “limit of what is feasible” but could be achieved if a number of measures were adopted with haste.

This is according to the National Energy System Operator (NESO), the state-owned body that was acquired by the UK Government in a £630m deal from the National Grid that gave the body more powers in aligning the strategy of the energy grid.

NESO has deemed Labour’s formidable goal to decarbonise the entire national grid a “huge challenge” which the new ruling party laid out in its manifesto, which brought forward the previously held 2035 goal.

A decarbonised grid will require a completely different approach than what the current grid relies on. Currently, the UK relies on a handful of large power stations, but decarbonisation will require not only a switch to smaller generators based on wind, solar, and other renewables, but would also require their own grid connections.

To meet these goals, NESO says that the UK will need to scale up its offshore wind capacity to contract as much power in the next two years as in the last six months combined as well as completing upgrades to the transmission network as soon as possible.

Recommended reading

• Great British Energy | What You Need to Know
• UK Government Acquires National Grid’s ESO in £630m Deal
• Scotland’s Energy Four Times Cleaner Than London

While the goal will require investment and effort to build the necessary infrastructure, it can put the UK in a more secure energy position.

“There’s no doubt that the challenges ahead on the journey to delivering clean power are great,” said Fintan Slye, NESO’s chief executive. “However, if the scale of those challenges is matched with the bold, sustained actions that are outlined in this report, the benefits delivered could be even greater.

“A clean power system for Great Britain will deliver a backbone of home-grown energy that breaks the link between volatile international gas prices; that is secure and affordably powers our homes and buildings; that decarbonises the transport that we take to school and work; and that drives the businesses of today and catalyses the innovations of the future.”