Issue details

Proposed decision –To approve KCC’s new energy strategy

Reason for the decision

-      Kent County Council’s (KCC) Energy Strategy  sets out the key energy challenges facing Kent and the ways in which KCC will work to support the county’s residents and businesses to benefit from the energy transition through access to reliable, affordable and clean energy. It builds on KCC’s 2026 Position Statement on Solar Generation.

-      The strategy assesses Kent’s current and future strategic energy needs and how KCC will work to ensure that these are met in the context of volatile energy prices, high energy bills for Kent’s residents and businesses, and the need to adapt to a changing climate.

-      This strategy complements the Kent and Medway Energy and Low Emissions Strategy (ELES) which aims to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions across the KCC estate and Kent’s businesses and communities. However, this strategy specifically sets out  KCC’s approach to energy generation within the wider national and international context of accelerating electrification of heating, transport and industry, and the need to increase independence from volatile international fossil fuel markets.

-      The strategy supports the Kent and Medway Economic Framework’s (KMEF) goals of enabling sufficient energy provision to support Kent businesses’ power needs, decarbonising our energy and transport systems, and implementing more energy efficient methods of production. It is informed by the emerging Kent and Medway Local Growth Plan – where energy is one of four priority sectors where Kent and Medway has nationally significant strengths and growth opportunities.

Background

-      The post-Covid pandemic surge in demand for oil and gas, followed by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, triggered European gas prices to soar by more than 200% in 2021.  The war sent shockwaves through the global economy and disrupted energy markets on an unprecedented scale.  Energy prices are still way above pre-pandemic levels and this has led to painful increases in the cost of living in the UK. The Europe wide energy-system transformation that it triggered has led to accelerating diversification and renewable deployment nationally and in Kent.

-      Kent County Council’s vision is to secure a resilient energy system that meets Kent’s current and future economic and housing growth needs and reduces reliance on volatile international energy markets. The Council will take a proactive leadership role in shaping Kent’s future energy system, and wherever we can the national and regional energy systems, to ensure that the right energy infrastructure is deployed in the right places, ahead of need.

-      KCC will commit to working with Government, industry and partners to unlock investment, address infrastructure constraints and ensure Kent is fully prepared to shape and benefit from Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs), securing a sustainable and competitive energy future for the county.

-      KCC’s work will focus on the following priorities:

o   Community Energy

o   Heat networks

o   Solar generation

o   Nuclear generation

o   Dungeness Decommissioning Academy and Nuclear Skills Campus

o   Hydrogen production

o   Household generation and storage

o   Data centres

o   Port of Dover

o   Grid constraints

-      Central government, network operators and the private sector are the main actors responsible for the deployment of energy generation infrastructure nationally. Participation in the Southeast RESP is the key mechanism by which KCC can work with central government, network companies and private developers to influence decisions around the generation mix in Kent and the siting of new energy infrastructure to ensure that these meet the needs of Kent’s residents and businesses. KCC’s Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Team will work across the Growth Environment and Transport directorate to identify Kent’s current and future energy priorities in preparation for the 2028 RESP.

-      The County Council administration’s preferred approach to solar generation is set out in KCC’s Position Statement on Solar Developments (2026). It is expected that renewed nuclear generation at Dungeness (and elsewhere as small modular reactor technologies mature and deployment accelerates) should play a role in meeting the county’s energy requirements without the need for extensive solar arrays on farmland.

-      Research carried out by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in 2021 suggests 250-460TWh of hydrogen could be needed in 2050, making up 20-35 per cent of UK final energy consumption. The Energy strategy will consider how Kent can attract and support hydrogen generation projects in the county as an important fuel in the energy transition and for the wider employment and economic benefits that generation facilities in the county could bring.

Options (other options considered but discarded)

-      Continue without an energy strategy

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s Strategic Statement

The proposed decision supports KCC’s Strategic Statement, Reforming Kent 2025–2028, by helping to secure the long-term infrastructure needed for Kent’s residents, communities and businesses to thrive.

• Building Better Communities — the strategy supports strategic infrastructure, energy resilience, economic growth, and preparation for future housing and business energy needs.

• Putting Kent Residents First — supports reliable, affordable and clean energy, reducing exposure to volatile energy markets, and supporting residents and businesses.

• Financial sustainability / value for money — energy resilience, supports economic growth and reduces long-term risk.

In particular, the strategy aligns with the Strategic Statement by promoting Dungeness as a nationally significant location for future nuclear generation and skills development; supporting appropriate renewable and low-carbon energy opportunities; protecting Kent’s agricultural land and local communities from inappropriate large-scale solar development; and supporting the infrastructure needed for a stronger, cleaner and more competitive Kent economy.