Electricity Generation: Renewable Energy
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of maintaining gas fired generation as backup capacity in a renewables led electricity system.
Answered by Michael Shanks
Clean Power means that by 2030, Great Britain will generate enough clean power to meet our total annual electricity demand, backed up by unabated gas supply to be used only when essential.
The Capacity Market remains the government’s primary mechanism for ensuring security of electricity supply in Great Britain.
Capacity Market costs depend on the competitive auction process and the final clearing price each year. Over the last four T-4 auctions, between 23.5-29GW of gas fired derated capacity has secured agreements with an associated cost ranging from £650m-£1.9bn for their associated future delivery year.
As the role of unabated gas diminishes, we continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on energy bills, whilst retaining sufficient unabated gas capacity for security of supply.
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