With energy prices predicted to fall for the first time since 2022 and an election shaking up the UK’s political landscape, could a clean energy revolution be back on the cards? Kit Dixon, head of policy at 100% renewable energy company Good Energy, sees plenty of reasons to be optimistic. He says there are easy, affordable ways a new government could transform our energy system and has even spotted some climate-positive policies in the main parties’ manifestos.
According to Dixon, the larger parties’ energy policies mostly relate to the big stuff – system reform, net-zero targets, offshore wind and hydrogen. And while it’s crucial that those behind the infrastructure of our energy system take full responsibility for their part, those at Good Energy believe local and personal change will also be key in the years to come. So, what might political support for that smaller-scale change look like?
Britain’s bare rooftops could be one place to start. Buying our energy from abroad has contributed to some of the rising costs encountered since 2022. For Good Energy, decentralising the system and investing in local solar is a sustainable, cost-saving solution. “Putting solar on rooftops makes perfect sense as the electricity is travelling a shorter distance,” Dixon explains. “It makes use of space that’s otherwise not being used, and it allows homes and businesses, as well as their neighbours potentially, to benefit.”
