04 March 2024 , 09:11
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The boss of Siemens Energy, Darren Davidson, has warned that the country isn't moving quickly enough towards renewable energy.
Siemens Energy makes blades for wind turbines at a factory in Hull. These turbines are becoming a common sight off the British coast. Mr Davidson says we're not on track to meet our goals for offshore wind power.
He said: "Siemens Energy employs 6,000 people in the UK, across transmission, power generation, wind, hydrogen-enabled gas turbines, so we're across all the energy landscape." He believes we need to be leading the way and helping our customers and the Government come up with plans to speed things up.
He said: "I think what we need to do is be at the front end, leading and helping our customers and the Government to come up with plans as to what we can to achieve because, if I'm brutally honest, we're not fast enough. I think it's clear to everyone. From a speed perspective, we need to improve or, I would say, help to do things faster."
He also warned that if we continue at the current pace, we won't reach our goal of having 50 gigawatts of offshore wind power around the UK. He said: "I think if we go at the current speed our objectives to get 50 gigawatts of (offshore) wind around the UK won't be achieved. And I think that it's really important that we recognise that and push for change."
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While the UK has managed to reduce its annual carbon emissions over the past few decades, there's still a long way to go before we can say we're net zero meaning we don't emit more carbon than we absorb each year.
The Government has made a promise to build enough renewable energy so that all the electricity added to the grid comes from sources that don't produce harmful carbon emissions. A lot of this will be done using wind power, but nuclear and solar power, along with other technologies, will also play a part.
This could even include using hydrogen to make electricity. Supporters say that hydrogen can be made from wind power when it's windy at night and at other times when there's more power being made than is needed. Then it can be used when the wind isn't blowing much or when lots of people need power.
Siemens Energy is currently providing gas plants which it has made sure can use hydrogen in the future. "I think you're always going to need that peaking plant back-up power, and I think hydrogen would give us that," said Mr Davidson. "So I see that being part of our future from an energy storage perspective. We will need that because we need to have that immediate responsiveness."
He said that the challenge now is to get to 30 gigawatts of hydrogen power in the UK, and starting the projects is "slightly behind wind" power. Mr Davidson has only been vice president of Siemens Energy UK&I and Siemens Gamesa UK for three months. He started his career as an apprentice when he was 16 in Newcastle.