Clean Power 2030 — 95% Clean Electricity by 2030
Definition
By 2030, at least 95% of Great Britain’s electricity generation comes from clean sources, with carbon intensity below 50 gCO₂e/kWh (from 171 gCO₂e/kWh in 2023). Gas remains available as a reserve but supplies no more than 5% of generation.
Contributing strategies
- clean-power-2030 — primary strategy; full deployment targets and governance
- industrial-strategy-2025 — Clean Energy Industries sector (IS-8); doubles investment to £30bn/year by 2035
- planning-infrastructure-act-2025 — enables grid connections reform and LDES cap-and-floor
- budget-spending-review-2025 — Sizewell C (£14.2bn); National Wealth Fund (£5.8bn for hydrogen, CCUS, ports)
- 10yr-infrastructure-strategy — Infrastructure pipeline includes clean energy projects
Contributing actions (inputs → outputs → outcome)
| Input | Output | Contribution to outcome |
|---|---|---|
| CfD auction reform | Viable renewable project economics | Offshore/onshore wind and solar deployment at scale |
| Grid connection reform (“first ready, first connected”) | Cleared 739GW queue; 80 priority projects | System capacity for clean generation to reach the grid |
| PIA 2025 (NSIP reform) | Faster planning decisions | Energy infrastructure built within 2030 window |
| National Wealth Fund £5.8bn | Co-investment in hydrogen, CCUS, ports | Industrial base for clean energy |
| Office for Clean Energy Jobs | Skilled workforce pipeline | Delivery capacity for installation and maintenance |
| £40bn/year investment (2025-2030) | Generation and transmission assets built | Physical infrastructure for 95% clean electricity |
Commitments
- desnz-clean-power-95pct-2030 — 95% clean electricity; carbon intensity <50 gCO₂e/kWh
- desnz-offshore-wind-43-50gw-2030 — 43–50 GW offshore wind
- desnz-onshore-wind-27-29gw-2030 — 27–29 GW onshore wind (from 14.2 GW)
- desnz-solar-45-47gw-2030 — 45–47 GW solar (from 16.6 GW)
- desnz-battery-23-27gw-2030 — 23–27 GW battery storage (from 4.5 GW)
Delivery status: at-risk
Assessment: at-risk, based on:
- Grid: 739 GW connection queue when plan published. “First ready, first connected” enacted in PIA 2025 (Dec 2025) — but grid reform implementation is still early stage. Twice as much transmission infrastructure needed by 2030 as was built in the past decade.
- Skills: 1 in 5 jobs needs reskilling. Long training pipelines mean engineers and technicians needed by 2030 must start training immediately. Recruitment difficulties acknowledged as significant.
- Planning timelines: PIA Royal Assent December 2025. Most provisions require implementation. For projects needing planning approval in 2025-2026, the old slow process largely still applied.
- Nuclear: Ageing fleet means nuclear drops from 5.9 to 3–4 GW by 2030. Sizewell C will not be operational before 2030.
- Measurement lag: Official statistics updated annually — limited ability to course-correct in-year.
Tensions
- clean-power-marine-environment — Offshore wind expansion conflicts with MPA obligations
- skills-shortage-cross-sector — Construction and engineering workers competed for across clean power, defence, and housing
- planning-timelines-2030-targets — 2030 deadline is extremely tight given infrastructure lead times
Evidence on progress
Official tracking via DESNZ Clean Power 2030 Metrics (updated April 2026). Three tracked metrics: clean electricity generation share; clean electricity demand met; emissions intensity (gCO₂e/kWh). Quarterly monitoring via Clean Power 2030 Unit.