Thriving Under the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan The case for a balanced energy transition

Eight months have passed since UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his government's Plan for Change, and with it one of the sweeping initiative's five main pillars – to make Britain a clean energy superpower. The mission, dubbed the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, stated a simple but willfully ambitious target of achieving at least 95% clean power by 2030 and accelerating the nation's progress toward a net-zero energy grid. The goals of this plan, according to the government's publicly circulated policy paper were:

● To maintain a secure and affordable energy supply in an increasingly unstable world
● To create new industries and investments around the country
● To protect the environment we live in from the most damaging effects of climate change

These are each objectively commendable goals, and for business leaders and entrepreneurs who are willing to engage with and invest in projects associated with the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, significant opportunities await. At the same time, just as full adoption of any new technology requires a measured onboarding plan – particularly in the case of a resource as vast and critical as global energy – stakeholders would do well to recognize the importance of maintaining oil and gas interests as part of any early energy strategy overhaul.

Managing a transition to renewables will require the cooperation and resources of legacy energy companies. An all-hands-on-deck coalition between renewables and O&G gives the United Kingdom, as well as the world at large, the best chance to ensure energy security, affordability and reliability in the meantime. Maintaining a diversity of energy sources during this process will be necessary as renewables scale up and build out the projects under the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, stabilizing resource availability and allowing for continued economic competitiveness. To avoid trailing, organizational leaders and individual entrepreneurs must begin asking key questions about the renewables-energy transition and the steps being taken to ensure a working equilibrium during this process. Here are a few to start with:

How does the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan affect business? With the implementation of the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, the UK is heading toward a more sustainable, cost-effective energy supply. The vast majority of experts and world leaders agree that the benefits of renewable energy sources are too great to ignore. But setting aside politics and even science, the UK's specific initiative – swift and sweeping – may leave companies grasping for how to adapt (especially in the short term) and scratching their heads over the investment implications.

It starts with an understanding that even as the industry gradually becomes less reliant on fossil fuels, the expertise and infrastructure of oil and gas properties will be critical assets during the transition. That legacy energy companies have begun to invest in renewables themselves would seem to be an indicator that the winds, so to speak, are shifting. At the same time, those investments, to this point, have amounted to a fraction of those businesses' capital. Most of the major energy players acknowledge that a balance must be struck to achieve an orderly transition and to avoid scaring off investment in energy projects in general.

Ironically, the building pushback on legacy energy companies may hinder the growth of a renewables-energy future. The Energy Profits Levy (EPL), for instance, serves as a windfall tax that is depressing needed investment that will aid the efforts of the O&G industry to fund a transition to renewables while also helping it maintain energy stability in the interim. Initiatives such as the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan incentivize renewables investment and encourage expedited project timelines, but the reality – solar panels and wind turbines that require rare earth elements, grids in need of upgrading and a workforce that has yet to be upskilled – all but demands a pact between legacies and renewables to bridge the gap between today and tomorrow.

How can leaders adapt their strategies to address this policy? Ultimately, alignment with clean energy goals amounts to a competitive advantage for business, and leaders who embrace and understand the changes necessary to achieve those goals will be most likely to reap the benefits. Still, the nuances and complexities surrounding precisely how policy – including the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan – will impact business and investment in the UK and across the globe remains somewhat sketchy. Organizations should, however, consider several clear action items that can best position them for the transition to a renewables-forward future.

First is an energy inventory – an analysis of a company's own power sources, needs, consumption and efficiencies (or lack thereof). An organization deriving electricity from coal, gas or petroleum might turn to solar and geothermal, which can power commercial buildings and even entire corporations. As part of an inventory, a business might also take measure of its partners and supply chains – even elected officials it may endorse – potentially realigning with more clean-energy-friendly associates.

Direct investment in renewables is another natural next step for many businesses. Opportunities abound for organizations that familiarize themselves with new standards and clean-energy innovators. The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan represents a deliberate pivot from a longstanding first-come, first-served approach to project approvals, turning to a "first ready, first connected" strategy intended to streamline processes and expedite infrastructure-building. Private equity and venture capital investment in clean-energy companies and projects that are more politically and geographically favored in the UK (such as offshore wind) but also closer to being fully developed are therefore more likely to pay off.

Do these changes necessitate new C-suite leadership? The aforementioned changes and opportunities are complicated, evolving and potentially fraught – and they represent just a fraction of what's to come for businesses to consider under the UK's new clean-energy push. Will companies need to carve out space in the executive offices for a new leader – a chief sustainability officer, perhaps?

For some organizations, that will likely be the case. If leadership at certain companies expects to build a plan – and ideally a culture – that addresses, incorporates and takes advantage of the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, it will need to rely on a C-suiter who understands renewables science, policy,

investment and more. A consultant alone won't be enough to hold down the job. An insider with proprietary company knowledge, wide-ranging clean-energy competencies and exceptional infrastructure-planning capabilities will be needed. They may even be sourced from the industry itself. But businesses would also do well to begin creating training and educational opportunities for entry- and mid-level execs who show interest and proficiency in renewables to help begin stocking the pool of future "CSO" candidates.

The nuances and complexities of the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan are sure to impact businesses domestically and abroad, and won't be easily navigated by the uninitiated. But that's all the more reason for leaders to begin taking stock and fostering support structures for tomorrow's in-house renewables professionals, while also taking care to stay connected to the expertise of legacy companies and avoid overreaching during what figures to be an extended energy transition.