5 August 2024

Can Chris Stark succeed as “Head of Mission Control”?

The government are serious about clean power by 2030. But it will take more than a cash injection to get there.

Photo by Independent Committee on Climate Change

This article was originally published as an edition of the Green Transition, New Statesman Spotlight’s weekly newsletter on the economics of net zero. To see more editions and subscribe, click here.

There is no one in government with a more ostentatious title than Chris Stark. Just four days after Labour formed the new government, the ex-chief executive of the Climate Change Committee was appointed the new “Head of Mission Control for Clean Power 2030” and will work with Ed Miliband and his team to oversee efforts to achieve this ambitious goal.

Many in the energy sector have struggled to hide their jealousy of Stark’s snazzy job title. But appearances aside, it’s clear there is a lot of work included in his new role. Last week, the government launched one of its headline policies, GB Energy, a new publicly owned company which will help to channel investment into renewable projects. This week, it outlined new plans to ramp up the amount of money allocated to the next auction round for Contracts for Difference (CfDs), the government’s main mechanism for supporting low-carbon energy generation (solar power and wind farms).

International energy markets – and particularly the wholesale cost of electricity – are known to be volatile and can often fluctuate. CfDs work by offering generators a strike price for electricity which they will be given throughout their contract. This offers investors more certainty; they are given access to government subsidies if prices go below the strike price set in the contract. In September last year, the previous Conservative government had a particularly embarrassing moment when they failed to secure a single offshore wind farm in the fifth round of auction.

Evidently, to avoid this, and to accelerate the UK’s progress to renewables, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has upped the amount of money allocated to the next CfD auction by 50 per cent. The government has said its plan to fork out a £1.5bn budget for CfDs is the “largest ever budget for delivering new homegrown clean energy projects in the UK”. Included in this is a £1.1bn boost for offshore wind. This is particularly significant following the announcement of GB Energy’s new partnership with the Crown Estate which oversees a £15.5bn portfolio of land, including miles of seabed ripe for windfarms. A further £185m has been allocated to onshore wind and solar, and £270m has gone to “emerging technologies”, including floating offshore wind and tidal power.

This 50 per cent boost has been welcomed by many in the energy and environment sector. Emma Pinchbeck, the chief executive of Energy UK, the industry body that represents those working in the energy sector, described the move as a “real boost for our clean energy ambitions”. She said: “The sooner we can get new wind and solar projects up and running, the sooner we can boost our energy independence.” But she added a not of caution, saying that to achieve clean power by 2030, “the vast majority of capacity must be delivered through this auction round and next year’s”. Pinchbeck described this as a “huge challenge” but said that the additional funding is “certainly a step in the right direction”.

But whether the projects that arise from the next freshly funded CfDs process are successful or not is dependent on access to grid connections. The first of Labour’s five missions was to “get Britain building again” – in other words, reform the planning process to speed this process up. It’s clear the government is serious about this – the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was quick to discuss planning in her first few weeks in the role. And Miliband’s lifting of the ban on onshore wind less than 72 hours after taking office shows the government is willing to pull key planning levers.

Still, with the 2030 deadline less than six years away, it will take more than an increase in funding to accelerate our progress towards clean power. The head of Mission Control, Chris Stark, and his team undoubtedly have their work cut out.