The value of renewables

20 March 2026 - RenewableUK report

A stakeholder briefing paper examining why expediting the roll-out of renewable energy is the best way to ensure lasting energy security and lower bills, setting out how:

• Renewables are the UK’s cheapest, fastest and most secure source of new power, cutting reliance on imported gas, whose price is set internationally - whether the molecule is imported or produced in the North Sea.


• The Government spent £44bn protecting households during the 2022 energy crisis. Over the same period, renewables on fixed price Contracts for Difference paid £500m back to consumers.


• Wind is consistently cheaper than new gas-fired generation even at 'normal' gas prices: onshore wind is half the cost of new gas turbines; offshore wind is 40% cheaper. On today’s record gas prices, new gas generation would be more than double the cost of new on or offshore wind if sustained.


• The wind industry is also an industrial growth engine, supporting 55,000 jobs, rising to 110,000 by 2030, with 2,000 companies and 160 factories across the UK and the potential to add £25bn through domestic manufacturing.


• 80% of the public support wind energy and just 4% oppose.

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