Presidential Roundtable summary: an engineering-led plan to decarbonise the UK’s electricity grid

Energy and engineering leaders gathered to discuss how to tackle one of the most pressing net zero issues – rapidly decarbonising the electricity system within the next decade.

To achieve that goal, infrastructure development will need to happen at a pace and scale not seen for generations.

At the roundtable, chaired by ICE President Prof Anusha Shah, participants explored what a credible, engineering-led delivery plan to decarbonise the grid would need.

They made suggestions for planning, procurement, and skills development that would drive quick change.

The discussion covered:

• Learning lessons from the COVID-19 response and the successful development and rollout of the vaccines.
• The challenge, impact, and solutions for the UK coming from global supply chain competition.
• Persuading the government and public why grid decarbonisation matters and how the transition will happen.
• The need for government planning to drive delivery and avoid relying on a market-led ‘wait and see’ approach.
• Understanding consumers to get the design right, drive efficient delivery, and pass on the benefits.
• The engineering workforce opportunities that come from the net zero transformation.