On Thursday 30 March, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps set out plans to strengthen GB’s long-term energy security and independence through the publication of Powering Up Britain. Measures announced include delivering Great British Nuclear; announcing the eight projects to progress to negotiations to rollout the first two carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) clusters and launching the process for confirming the next clusters for deployment in Track-2; confirming the first winning projects under the £240mn Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and announcing a shortlist of 20 projects to take to the next stage in the first electrolytic hydrogen allocation round; and launching £160mn of funding for the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme. The government also confirmed that it intends to proceed with plans to introduce the new Energy Company Obligation scheme, now referred to as the Great British Insulation Scheme, from spring 2023 to March 2026; announced a new £30mn Heat Pump Investment Accelerator; and noted that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will be extended to 2028. In addition, it was announced that the government is investing a further £381mn through the launch of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure fund, along with £15mn for the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, and that UK Export Finance will be provided with an extra £10bn capacity to boost exports. Alongside this, the government also published its updated 2023 Green Finance Strategy and announced that it will consult on a revised set of energy national policy statements, as part of plans to speed up planning and networks, and on measures to address future carbon leakage risk.
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