Investment in Clean Energy Reducing Reliance on Foreign Gas
I am glad to see that investment in clean energy, one of our biggest industries and job-creators locally, means the UK in March avoided having to import £1 billion worth of foreign gas to power the grid.
Last month, wind and solar generated 28% more energy than the same time last year and set a new March record. Had we not invested in renewables, we would have needed to important 21 TWh of gas (the equivalent of 18 tankers of liquified natural gas) which, as a result of the war in Iran, would have cost around £1 billion.
In March, electricity generation from gas fell 25% on last year which meant that gas was setting the price of electricity roughly a quarter less often than in 2022, when fossil fuel prices spiked after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Weening ourselves off a reliance on foreign oil and gas and investing in homegrown clean energy is essential to ensure that, as far as we can, we insulate ourselves from global market shocks caused by things like the war in Iran.