EDF Renewables UK has released its manifesto of what the sustainable energy firm considers the “five priorities” for the next UK government.
The UK is due for a general election, which will decide the political party that will take over as government, and must be held no later than 28 January 2025.
Ahead of this, EDF has detailed five areas of the renewable sector that the firm believes require urgent attention from the central government in order to reach the net zero ambition already in place.
Roadmap to nowhere
The first of these is the “immediate” need for a roadmap to net zero by 2050, for which the company argued that political leaders must listen to industry and be creative in delivering change to the regulatory environment.
The manifesto also said that policymakers must be clear that communities also have a part to play in tackling the challenge by hosting renewable energy projects in their area.
CfD scheme
Secondly, EDF called for improvement to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which incentivises developers to invest in renewable energy projects.
The firm’s manifesto said that it is “vital” that the budget for Allocation Round 6 is reviewed at the next available opportunity, following the completion of the final valuation of qualifying applications.
The company argued that the current budget is not ambitious enough to achieve the national goals in the area of both existing technologies, such as onshore wind and solar, and emerging technologies, including floating offshore wind.
Grid difficulties
The third issue raised was that of grid connectivity, which is a problem that has been felt nationwide as many developers are waiting at least a decade for a connection date.
EDF said that transmission capacity needs to be vastly expanded, and Ofgem should be empowered to enable anticipatory grid investment.
Also, the firm argued that National Grid and Distribution Network Operators should be held to promised timelines as there are often significant delays in getting projects online.
Renewable skills
EDF is also aware of the skills gap the clean energy sector is facing as the UK attempts its transition to net zero.
In response, the company suggested that it should work with the government to ensure young people know at an early stage they can have a long-term career in renewables, and which roles are on offer directly and indirectly.
The need for electrical engineers is strong across the UK, so training people from an entry-level stage and up will help fulfil this need.
An industrial mindset
Finally, EDF called for the development and then expansion of a domestic manufacturing sector within the renewables industry.
The manifesto argued that without this, the UK would lose the opportunity to develop supply chain manufacturing capacity, and the UK’s renewable sector would be put at significant risk.