National Infrastructure Commission chair Sir John Armitt has told chancellor Jeremy Hunt that the government needs to “move faster” on decarbonisation measures.
In a letter seen by the Financial Times, Armitt told Hunt that the government is taking “too long” to decide on initiatives to support private investors to decarbonise the electricity sector.
“Government needs to move faster to ensure that the necessary infrastructure can be delivered over the next decade,” Armitt wrote, calling Hunt to take “decisive action” in his Spring Budget on March 6 2024.
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Armitt also called for “greater urgency” on developing locations where hydrogen can be stored at scale.
“To meet the needs of the power sector, we should be deploying hydrogen and gas CCS [carbon capture and storage] generation at a pace equivalent to the ‘dash for gas’”.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We have a clear strategy to boost UK industry and reach net zero by 2050 — backed by £200 billion in low-carbon investment since 2010, with a further £100 billion expected by 2030.”
The spokesperson added that the government was “working closely with the private sector on strategic investment” and had “recently announced 11 major hydrogen projects across the UK”.
