The war in Ukraine has sparked a renewed focus on energy security and, in particular, a desire to reduce the UK’s dependence on Russian oil and gas. As a consequence, the government is developing a new Energy Security Strategy which is due to be published imminently. The strategy is expected to focus primarily on energy efficiency, renewables and nuclear. New government policy measures to encourage energy efficiency and renewables could present attractive opportunities for NFU members.

Improving energy efficiency is typically the easiest and most cost-effective way to reduce energy costs – and recent energy price rises have made the benefits even more attractive. Any measures introduced as part of the Energy Security Strategy to encourage energy efficiency could further improve the business case and enable NFU members to make significant energy cost savings offering rapid returns on upfront investment.

The most likely focus areas for renewables in the Energy Security Strategy are accelerating existing plans for offshore wind deployment and relaxing planning rules for onshore wind and solar power – although neither are certain. It’s also possible the government could introduce new financial measures to support roof-mounted solar.

Our Renewable Energy Solutions service helps you develop renewable energy schemes of all sizes, ranging from small schemes where the primary goal is to consume the energy on the farm, to very large schemes where the primary goal as the landowner is typically to earn land rental income for hosting them. We also have a long track record of helping NFU members identify and implement quick-payback energy efficiency measures.

Further details of our services can be found on the our website. If you are interested in talking to one of our experts, please get in touch on [email protected] or 024 7669 6512.

Written by Bruno Gardner, Managing Director for NFU EnZero.