There are several gaps the UK needs to address if it is to deliver its climate and energy objectives at the pace necessary.
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) released a paper, having sought to map out how the government can secure an investment grade delivery plan and know it is on track to be successful. Having carried out desk-based research, UKERC looked into six government departments and bodies, exploring how they analyse the investment quality of plans and track whether or not they are bringing in the investment assured.
It highlighted how there are a matrix of different teams in place now, bringing in-house infrastructure and financial experience to government departments, as well as real-time project tracking across some renewables and heat, as well as a number of engagement forums that are either in place or being started.
However, a number of gaps were found too, including a lack of clarity on coordination of, and coherence between departmental approaches to investment and plans trying to draw in investment, inconsistent or limited transparency on assumptions, processes and risk assessments which includes across investor and sector taskforces, and unclear approaches to “early warning” if investment is not materialising as assumed, to ensure that things can be corrected. This in particular is a dynamic part of securing delivery.
Therefore, looking ahead, to secure an investment grade delivery plan, UKERC is suggesting that the government sets up a practitioner-focused panel that is tasked with reviewing factors and tools to build investment confidence, reduce delivery risk and increase transparency, and that it establishes forward-focused, risk-based tracking that can identify investment-related barriers to implementation in advance.
