Why is Springwell needed?

Reaching net zero means fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas will need to be replaced by sources of clean, renewable electricity. This is important because the energy sector produces around 75% of greenhouse gas emissions around the world today. The government believes that by 2030, 95% of British electricity could be low carbon and by 2035, this could be 100%. 

In the future, electricity will have a much larger role to play in our energy system. Not only will it be used to heat our homes, but it will play an important role across our whole economy, powering our future transport systems, buildings and industries. This means we need to produce a lot more electricity than we currently do. In fact, electricity demand is set to double by 2050.  

All of this means we need to increase the amount of clean electricity we produce by increasing the sources of renewable energy we have in the UK. Having lots of sources of electricity in the UK will also help our energy system become more independent.  

Solar will play an essential role in our future energy mix – it is reliable, secure and can be built quickly. At a larger scale, it is also the cheapest method of generating electricity here in the UK. Most solar farms have an operational lifetime of around 40 years and can be built and operated with limited impact to the land beneath them. This means that once the panels are removed, the land can be returned to agricultural use.

With the potential to generate 800MW of electricity, Springwell would make an important contribution to helping the UK build a cleaner, independent and affordable energy system and reach our net-zero target.