Opening Remarks & Fireside Chat with Chris Stark

The UK’s clean power mission is entering a new phase. In this Strategic Summit session, Chris Stark reflects on the progress made during the first two years of the Clean Power 2030 programme and sets out how the government intends to turn investment in renewable generation and electricity networks into tangible benefits for households, businesses and the wider economy.

The discussion takes place against a backdrop of renewed geopolitical instability and rising energy prices. Chris argues that repeated energy crises have exposed the same fundamental weakness: the UK remains too dependent on volatile international fossil fuel markets. Rather than responding with another short-term support package, he calls for faster investment in homegrown clean power, storage, networks and electrified technologies that can strengthen energy security and reduce bills permanently.

Significant progress has already been made. The government has expanded support for renewable generation, begun reforming the grid connections queue and accelerated investment in transmission infrastructure. The latest renewable energy auction, the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and proposals for Reformed National Pricing are presented as evidence that clean power has moved from a political commitment to a coordinated delivery programme across government.

However, Chris makes clear that constructing a cleaner electricity system is not enough. The next priority is to ensure that people can use clean power more easily and affordably. This means accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles, domestic batteries, solar panels, electric heating and flexible tariffs. By increasing electricity demand and enabling consumers to shift their usage to periods when power is cheaper, the fixed costs of the new system can be shared across a broader customer base.

Breaking the link between gas and electricity prices is another central theme. Gas continues to set the wholesale electricity price too frequently, leaving consumers exposed when global prices rise. The session explores how greater renewable deployment, new contractual arrangements and changes to taxes and levies could reduce that influence and allow the lower operating costs of clean generation to flow through to bills.

The conversation also considers the importance of grid delivery. Major transmission projects are needed to connect renewable generation, reduce constraint costs and move power efficiently between Scotland and centres of demand elsewhere in Great Britain. Chris describes the grid programme as one of the most important elements of Clean Power 2030, not only for the energy system but also for the skilled employment and industrial investment it can create.

Throughout the session, Chris emphasises that the clean energy transition should not be presented simply as a climate programme or an unavoidable cost. It is an investment in a more productive, secure and efficient economy. The challenge for government and industry is to communicate those benefits clearly and bring them forward quickly enough for consumers to experience them.

The session explores

• The next phase of the Clean Power 2030 mission
• Reducing the UK’s exposure to volatile global fossil fuel prices
• Breaking the link between gas and electricity prices
• Accelerating electric vehicles, batteries, solar and clean heating
• Flexible tariffs and greater consumer participation
• Transmission investment, grid constraints and project delivery
• Turning clean energy investment into lower bills and economic growth

Watch the full session to hear Chris Stark explain how the UK can move from constructing a clean power system to making that system work more effectively for consumers, businesses and communities.

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