The UK is lagging behind in the race to rewire the world’s power grids by investing four times more on renewable energy projects than on the electricity cables needed to connect them to the grid and consumers, according to a new report.
For every pound the UK has spent on renewables it has spent only 25p on the cables and power lines, claims the report by Bloomberg NEF, which placed the UK eighth in an index of the world’s 10 biggest energy markets.
The UK has trailed its European neighbours in Germany, Spain and Italy in constructing the electricity grids needed for a surge of projects due to its low ratio of grid investment to clean energy spending. It was also behind China, the US, Australia and Brazil in the global league table, but was rated ahead of India and Japan.
Adapting the global electricity grid for a net zero future could require investment of $21.4tn to roll out 152m km of new cables, or…
