Policy Tailwinds Are Converging

The UK is building one of the world's most ambitious renewable energy systems. But as wind and solar scale, the grid faces a growing challenge: maintaining reliability when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.

Batteries excel at short-duration balancing, but multi-hour and seasonal storage remains a gap. Current gas peakers provide the flexibility the grid needs, but they're incompatible with Net Zero.

The Climate Change Committee projects 12–20 GW of new low-carbon dispatchable capacity is needed by 2035.

No commercial-scale hydrogen peaker plants are currently operating in the UK, though trials are underway and policy support is maturing. The gap creates opportunity.

Experience with other UK support mechanisms—renewable CfDs and hydrogen production support—shows that the richest support is typically available to early movers. Projects that establish partnerships and secure sites now will be positioned to access support mechanisms when they launch.