‘Four Conferences, Leading To A Net Zero Future’

Over the last two weeks myself and the team have been discussing energy policy at both the UK Conservative and Labour Party Conferences in Birmingham and Liverpool.

During conference season, we heard cross-party support for continued investment in wind, CCUS and hydrogen – together with a commitment to get to Net Zero by 2050. Climate change should no longer be a political debate, it is happening, and we must act now. 2050 might sound like a lifetime away, but there is less time to go than when ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ came out. Hugh Grant might not look any older, but that film came out at the start of 1994. We need to make this time count.

Delivering energy security and a net zero electricity system needs to be a national and European endeavour. It’s pleasing to see energy security also top of the agenda too at today’s first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague – following the Warsaw Security Forum this week. Siemens Energy is in it for the long term, here to support the UK, Europe and the global energy transition.?An estimated one-sixth of the electricity generated worldwide is based on technologies from Siemens Energy. We deliver technology that underpins the world’s energy systems. Generating electricity, powering industry, and supporting the grid. Our mission is to support our customers and the populations they serve to deliver the energy transition to a more sustainable world.

As a leading energy technology company in the UK, we have a particular focus to decarbonise the GB electricity system. The current target in the UK is 2035, the Labour Party are calling for it be delivered five years earlier. Either way we need to act urgently and get back to business. In the UK, we have around 4,000 employees who deliver energy projects, technology, and services. Our sites in locations like Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester and Lincoln are also great examples of how acting on net zero and energy security, can be part of levelling-up.

Ahead of the UK party conference season, we published a report on how the supply chain needed to deliver this target and the opportunity to build a greener, more local supply chain. Our report ‘a national endeavour - delivering the supply chain for a net zero GB electricity system by 2035’ aims to show the scale of the task and the step change in infrastructure delivery required. We are convinced this is deliverable and it will require every part of the industry and supply chain to do their bit.

Our report is an example of collaboration, we recognise that only by working together will we achieve these goals. It can only be achieved by the supply chain working together. This week, Siemens Energy together with Aker Solutions signed a contract with Vattenfall to deliver grid connection infrastructure for the Norfolk Boreas offshore wind farm. Located 47km off the Norfolk coast, the first phase of Norfolk Boreas marks an important step forward in reaching the UK’s target of 50GW of offshore wind power by 2030. With an installed capacity of 1.4GW, it will deliver its first power in 2027. Once complete, the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone will be one of the world's largest offshore windfarms producing enough renewable energy to power more than four million UK homes.

Decarbonising electricity is a vital enabler for decarbonising heat, transport, and industry. It’s the right target, and we are convinced that by businesses, governments and society working together we can achieve energy security and create sustainable jobs. Today’s European Political Community meeting in Prague feels like another important step.