The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)

I am pleased to announce the latest steps the Government are taking to decarbonise our electricity system, to meet our net zero target by 2050, delivering on commitments made in the Energy White Paper.

First, the Government have today published a new smart systems and flexibility plan, jointly with Ofgem. Technologies such as energy storage, interconnection and smart charging of electric vehicles are essential to balance supply and demand as we deploy more intermittent renewables to power our buildings and vehicles. Flexibility reduces the amount of generation and network we need to build, and costs for energy consumers—flexibility could reduce the cost of the system by up to £10 billion by 2050. It is critical for energy security as we shift away from unabated gas over the next decade. System flexibility is therefore fundamental in reducing emissions to net zero by 2050.

The transition to a smarter and more flexible energy system is also an opportunity. It will be delivered by UK businesses and will benefit consumers across the country. It will create nationwide jobs, potentially 24,000 by 2050, and drive investment across the UK. The UK is a global leader in smart systems and there is significant export potential—which could contribute as much as £2.7 billion per year to the UK economy by 2050—for the solutions that we will need to deploy at home. As nations confront the challenge of climate change, markets for new green products and services will spring up around the world. Taking action now will help position UK companies and our world-class research base to seize the business opportunities which will flow from it, creating jobs and wealth for our country.

I will place copies of the 2021 smart systems and flexibility plan and its appendices—appendix I: electricity system flexibility modelling, and appendix II: smart systems and flexibility plan monitoring framework—the energy digitalisation strategy, the call for evidence on facilitating the deployment of large-scale and long-duration storage, and the call for evidence on the role of vehicle-to-X technologies in a net zero energy system in the Libraries of both Houses.

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