Mr Hewett gave a keynote speech at the first day of the Solar & Storage Live trade show at the NEC in Birmingham today (Tuesday 23rd September), in which he said that the world is close to seeing the end of global dependence on oil and gas.
“We’re going to get there even faster than we thought we would have done a few years ago” Mr Hewett said. “The electrification of everything, primarily powered by solar and wind, with backup from batteries, is increasingly seen now as the best way to run the energy system.”
However, this represents a “fundamental challenge” to the fossil fuel economy. The clean energy sector is now moving so fast that the established institutions in the energy world are struggling to keep up. The International Energy Agency estimates that $US450 billion will be invested in solar energy around the world this year, more than annual investment in coal, gas, nuclear, gas and large-scale hydropower combined. Meanwhile, global investment in battery storage is already on the same scale as the gas and nuclear sectors.
The UK now has more than 22 gigawatts of solar generation capacity online, on the way to reaching the Government’s target of 57 GW of clean, local, low-cost, British solar power by 2030.
However, that growth – and the manifold benefits that come with it – is under threat.
“There's a growing movement of political parties across the world, including this country, who want to drive social and economic chaos in order to impose authoritarian rule backed by oil and gas interests” Mr Hewett added. “That is why we see anti-renewables rhetoric intermixed with all the xenophobia and the anti-press freedom and the anti-vax stuff. So the solar and energy storage sector is being dragged into a toxic political debate, whether we like it or not.”
Having already condemned the “malicious lies” spouted against renewables by Donald Trump, Hewett turned his attention to Reform Party.
“Nigel Farage wants to subsidise fracking in Lincolnshire” said Mr Hewett. “He wants to send the Welsh working class back down in the coal mines. His sidekick, Richard Tice, has been sending threatening letters to investors in solar and battery sector, saying if Reform were to win power at the national level, it would cancel CfD contracts. He's actively saying he wants to stop billions of pounds of investment into the UK economy in the energy sector, and the consequence of that would be that Britain remains hooked on expensive oil and gas from petrol states like Russia, like the Middle East, like the US.”
Already, local councils led by Reform UK are not just opposing the development of solar farms, they are also cancelling solar rooftop projects on public buildings.
“That means they would rather see schools have high energy bills paid for by the taxpayer, rather than reaping rewards of investments and renewables, which will mean they can employ more teachers” Mr Hewett warned those attending the conference. “Make no mistake, if Reform get their hands on national in the power national level, they will want to threaten all your jobs.”
Around 20,000 people are expected to attend Solar & Storage Live Birmingham this week.
“Take this seriously” Mr Hewett said. “We have to call the nonsense out, but on our terms not theirs, because the good news is that public thinking is not changing. Whatever you happen to read in the right-wing press, the vast majority of Britain still want renewables. They still want it quickly. They want low bills. They want economic security. They want the investment and the jobs. They want it in their area. What has shifted is what they think everybody else thinks. If asked, ‘What do you think other people think?’ they think solar is unpopular. It's not, but that's what they believe. So if you speak to your neighbours, you'll find a very different answer if you look at your phone.”
Mr Hewett said that the role of the clean energy industry is to stand firm.
“It's to play our part in making the positive and real vision happen” Hewett added. “So then, by the next election campaign, which is still four years away, that will take place against the backdrop of a clean, cheap power system that is delivering low bills for the vast majority of businesses and people, and the scare numbers will be proved wrong. We have the reality, we have the facts, and we have hope in our cycle that we really keep emphasising all that, and we keep telling the story whilst we deliver it. So, we're doing this, but we have to tell everyone we're doing it, to tell everyone why we're doing it all the time, because our opponents are very, very well-funded, and they will continue to spread their lies.”
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