The Government has committed to decarbonising the UK power system by 2035. This means carbon-free electricity. Every kilowatt-hour of consumption must be met with carbon-free energy sources, for example wind, solar or nuclear power.
Key organisations are already taking steps to support the transition with C40 Cities, a global network of mayors, joining forces with Google in November 2022 to launch the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy for Cities Programme. They aim to support cities implement the concept to accelerate decarbonisation of electricity grids.
In the UK, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has appointed partners, including Syzygy, to support its Advancing Net Zero programme. This includes its Phase 2 Renewable Energy Procurement, which will be providing guidance around this critical goal soon.
The real estate sector needs to start thinking about how it will deliver 24/7 carbon-free energy, particularly because accounting on a sub-hourly level will be required and offsetting will cease to be an option. Many are already making great strides to embed renewable energy generation on real estate assets or portfolios, and we’ve written before about how it can be done commercially and viably – read more here.
Now, take-up needs to accelerate at pace, with the primary objective to generate all, or more, electricity than is needed to ensure compliance. In his role as chair of the Solar and Storage Group at the Renewable Energy Association, our founder and CEO John Macdonald Brown, is exploring solutions, including on-site or off-site solar PV. We've been working on an exciting project across Park Royal in London with SEGRO and will report more on that soon.
Get in touch if you want to know how we can work together to fully decarbonise your real estate.
