Leading trade body Offshore Energies UK today responds to the government’s publication of its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA).
OEUK says the reforms announced – including the decision to commit to national pricing – bring stability that can help renew investor confidence and build a nationwide network secured by a diverse mix of domestic energy from oil, gas and offshore wind and emerging sources such as hydrogen.
Retaining national pricing supports offshore wind and clean energy development in Scotland and across the UK. OEUK is working across industry to deliver the capacity and investment needed to make the forthcoming seventh allocation round (AR7) for offshore wind a success.
OEUK says the round must secure 8 gigawatts (GW) of power to improve the chances of hitting the government’s Clean Power 2030 targets. OEUK’s Wind Insight 2025 report sets out its recommendations in full.
The review also sets out reforms to build out new transmission infrastructure and will see the government take on more responsibility for planning the overall energy system and deciding where key sites and connections are located.
OEUK continues to call for reforms that reduce costs for consumers and manufacturers and enable the UK to build an industrial future with its homegrown energy resources and skilled people. OEUK’s submission to the industrial strategy consultation showed how over £200 billion of business investment could be unlocked this decade across the UK’s energy mix.
OEUK’s chief executive David Whitehouse comments:
'The government’s decision to rule out zonal pricing and commit to this reformed national approach provides crucial certainty for investors and is vital for supporting clean growth opportunities, particularly in the UK’s industrial heartlands. These reforms mark an important step towards a more sustainable electricity market for the UK. This announcement can help to lay the best path to deliver clean, secure, and competitive domestically produced energy across the nation.
'These reforms are an important stepping stone to the UK’s energy future. It is imperative we now get the other steps right – such as a successful seventh allocation round for the offshore wind industry, enabling firms to create new projects and jobs and keep their operations and people here in the UK.
'To accelerate progress to net zero and safeguard jobs and communities we must also unlock investment in the homegrown oil and gas we need for the decades ahead. Policymakers must back firms with pragmatic policies, including the forthcoming Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, which must back a diverse mix of energy sources that are produced here rather than imported. This is the path to the affordable and secure energy future and economic growth we all want to see.'
Source: OEUK
