EVOL: King coal, carbon capture and the wind of change

It was a big week for GB’s electricity system with the closure of Ratcliffe. While the country’s goal of zero carbon from power has been accelerated to 2030, longer timeframes clearly give companies - and crucially workers - scope to prepare.

As the UK waves goodbye to coal, the government is ushering in CCS. There’s an aim to capture 20-30mn tonnes per year of CO2 as Starmer finally delivers on the long-awaited Track 1 CCS project funding that was promised by the previous Conservative government.

Talking of targets, there’s also much ambition for offshore wind. And there has been progress this week, for instance with the innovative Salamander floating wind project submitting an onshore consent application. There’s a growing sense the UK will fall short of its big plans, the trick is to try and avoid becoming disheartened.