Government to set new target for heating homes with GSHPs
The BBC reported on 9 November 2020 that:
Nuclear power's role in the UK's future energy strategy will be discussed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson with the Chancellor and Business Secretary at a meeting this month.
It comes ahead of a new 10-point plan for the UK to hit Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. The report is expected to be published next week.
The government insists it remains committed to the construction of new nuclear power stations as part of an overall strategy to decarbonise the UK's electricity supply. The trilateral meeting will discuss what form that should take.
Of the six sites originally identified a decade ago, three have seen contractors pull out and only one is under construction at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
The government is not expected to single out which project will get the go-ahead, but officials told the BBC that Sizewell in Suffolk is the only project ready to go if the government is to hit a target of starting construction of new nuclear within this parliament.
The government is also considering bringing forward its ban on new petrol and diesel engines from the current official target of 2040, to 2035 or earlier.
The 10-point plan is also expected to include a significant expansion of the role of offshore wind.
It is also expected that the government will set a new target for heating homes with ground source heat pumps.
The replacement of 25 million gas boilers in UK homes is recognised as one of the hardest parts of the move to net zero carbon by 2050.
Although many energy industry experts remain sceptical that small nuclear reactors can play a significant role, the BBC understands that the government has big ambitions to progress small nuclear reactors, and that it will form an important part of the government's long term plan.
A detailed white paper on the future shape of UK energy policy is expected in late November.
See the full BBC article published on 9 November: Government to set a new target for heating homes with GSHPs
Some electric power distribution companies have decided to standardise on three phase service cables to new domestic properties. This infrastructure upgrade will help the transition toward using heat pumps to decarbonise domestic heating.
See Renewable Heating See Renewable Cooling