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Renewable energy: what to watch out for

With the end of coal-fired power generation in the UK, the focus now turns to what will replace fossil fuels in the country’s energy mix.

As the Government looks to make further strides towards its ambitious target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, we take a look at some recent innovations and developments in solar, wind, green hydrogen and other clean technologies.

Solar Power – A Shining Example?

Despite the well-known drawbacks of the UK climate, solar power has been a staple of our renewable energy mix for a number of years, albeit lagging behind European counterparts with sunnier climates such as Spain and Portugal.

As of 2023, over 14.4 gigawatts of solar power have been installed in the UK, with a third of that coming from rooftop solar installations.

A couple of new developments in the sector could see that total increase substantially:

1. Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells have been described as a game-changer in the solar energy sector. These cells are made of cheaper materials than traditional silicon-based solar panels and are also easier to produce. Research is being conducted at institutions like Oxford University to commercialise perovskite solar cells, with a focus on enhancing efficiency, durability, and affordability. A promising aspect of perovskite is its potential to be used in tandem with existing silicon cells, creating solar panels with much higher efficiency.

2. Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

BIPV is another innovation transforming urban environments into energy-generating hubs. These photovoltaic materials can be seamlessly integrated into the architecture of buildings, from windows to facades. In the UK, companies like Solar Window Technologies and Viridian Solar are exploring how to embed solar generation capabilities into everyday structures, helping to make renewable energy adoption more aesthetically pleasing and widespread in cities. This could also reduce the pressure for large areas of agricultural land being taken up for solar farms, which have provoked opposition from local residents and protests against their spread.

Winds of Change

The UK has long been a global leader in wind energy, particularly in the field of offshore wind.

In the North-East, the arrival of the giant SeAH Wind monopile factory on Teesside is a very visible example of the onward march of offshore wind while the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult in Blyth is at the forefront of research and development in the sector.

New technological innovations and larger wind farms are also helping to boost output and reduce costs.

Developments to watch out for include:

1. Floating Offshore Wind Farms

Floating wind farms, which can be deployed in deeper waters far from shore, are becoming more feasible thanks to advancements in engineering and materials science. The government has supported projects like the Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm in Scotland, the largest floating offshore wind farm in the world. These floating platforms open up new areas for wind energy development, particularly in regions with deep seas where fixed-bottom turbines are impractical.

2. Taller Turbines and Larger Blades

To maximise efficiency, the latest wind turbines are reaching unprecedented heights and blade lengths. Turbines such as the Siemens Gamesa 14MW model, which will be used in projects like Dogger Bank Wind Farm off the coast of North East England, have larger blades capable of capturing more wind energy, significantly increasing power generation.

In May 2024, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult secured £85.6m worth of Government funding to expand and upgrade its testing facilities at its centre in Blyth, Northumberland, and enable the evolution of the next generation of wind turbines in the UK.

The late-stage research and development facilities are designed for the testing of blades up to 150 metres long and drive trains up to 23MW and have the capacity for further expansion to test blades of up to 180 metres long and drive trains up to 28MW.

Of course, taller turbines and larger blades for offshore wind farms will require even firmer foundations. This is where SeAH Wind comes in.

The company’s giant facility currently taking shape on the south bank of the River Tees at the Teesworks development site will be the largest of its kind in the world and will produce wind farm monopiles up to a maximum of 15.5 metres in outside diameter, 120 metres in length and weighing a hefty 3,500 metric tons.

3. Innovations in Energy Storage

A major challenge for wind energy has always been storage – put very simply, what happens when the wind doesn’t blow? Companies are now exploring innovative storage solutions such as hydrogen production (through electrolysis powered by wind energy) and advanced battery technologies to store surplus energy for use during periods of low generation.

Green Hydrogen – A Cleaner Fuel to Power the Future

Hydrogen is seen as a vital component of the UK’s future energy mix, particularly for decarbonising sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy industry and transport.

1. Electrolysis Advancements

On a basic level, green hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy. The UK is making major strides in electrolysis technologies to make this process more cost-efficient and scalable. ITM Power, based in Sheffield, is one of the leading companies in the world producing electrolysers, devices that convert water into hydrogen using renewable energy. ITM Power’s gigafactory is poised to be a central hub for green hydrogen production in the UK.

2. Hydrogen Hubs

The UK is investing in hydrogen hubs, where hydrogen can be produced, stored, and used across various sectors. One example of this is on Teesside, an industrial hotspot for over a century and home to a number of energy-intensive companies. There are plans for a number of hydrogen production facilities in Teesside producing both green hydrogen and blue hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas and then has the carbon dioxide by-product captured and stored.

Linked to this latter process is Net Zero Teesside on the Teesworks site, which aims to be the UK’s first carbon capture, utilisation and storage facility, capturing up to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. The project will include a power station with the capacity to generate up to 860 megawatts of low carbon electricity – enough to power up to 1.3 million homes in the UK.

Up to two million tonnes of CO2 emissions from the power station will be captured every year and will then be transported by pipeline to a geological storage site beneath the North Sea.

The project, which was given Government backing in October 2024, will create 1,000 permanent jobs, with 3,000 jobs being created during the construction phase.

3. Green hydrogen generators

The use of green hydrogen as an energy source is often thought to be only for large-scale power users working in energy-intensive industries. However, green hydrogen can be a clean energy source for a wide range of companies and in locations far away from industrial centres.

The company Geopura is pioneering the use of green hydrogen as an energy source in many different applications and sector. Working with Siemens, Geopura uses renewable energy, normally solar PV or wind, to create hydrogen and hydrogen based zero emission fuels before transporting the fuel to locations where a local generator converts it to electrical power. From start to finish the process is clean and carbon free – the only by-product is pure water.

In more remote or harder to reach locations, diesel generators have previously been the only way to create power. Replacing these with generators which run on green hydrogen cuts carbon emissions drastically and successful trials using the technology have been undertaken with organisations including the Ministry of Defence.

Other Emerging Renewable Technologies

1. Tidal and Wave Energy

Though still in the early stages of commercialisation, tidal and wave energy represent exciting new frontiers in renewable energy. As an island nation, the UK is uniquely positioned to benefit from these resources. Projects like the MeyGen tidal array in Scotland are demonstrating that tidal power could become a significant contributor to the UK’s energy mix in the future. These technologies use underwater turbines or oscillating water columns to generate electricity from the predictable ebb and flow of tides.

2. Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy, though less prominent than wind or solar, is receiving renewed interest in the UK, particularly for heating. The Eden Project in Cornwall is pioneering the use of deep geothermal energy, which involves extracting heat from the earth’s core for district heating. The North East’s coal-mining legacy also makes the region a prime candidate for geothermal energy as outlined in our article from 2023.

This technology could play a crucial role in decarbonising heating, a sector responsible for a large proportion of the UK’s carbon emissions.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a sector which is always looking forwards, the renewables industry is undergoing a period of rapid innovation and development.

Advances in solar, wind, and green hydrogen are driving the country towards its ambitious net-zero targets, while emerging technologies like tidal and geothermal energy hold the potential to further diversify the energy mix.

Providing policies and investment continue to support these industries, the UK is well-positioned to remain a global leader in renewable energy for decades to come, which would be good news for us and for the planet.