Overview
- The Prosperity Institute published its analysis on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, projecting combined electricity-generation subsidies and grid-integration charges would exceed £40 billion a year by 2030/31.
- The report says subsidies rose from about £0.5bn in 2010/11 to £11.8bn in 2024/25 and are forecast to reach £14.9bn by 2030/31 while grid-integration costs climbed from £2.8bn to £8bn and are projected to hit £25.3bn.
- The think tank estimates the total would amount to roughly £1,400 extra per household and urges ending renewable subsidies, renegotiating contracts and repealing the Climate Change Act.
- The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero rejected the figures as misleading and the Climate Change Committee disputed the scale, saying its own estimate of net zero costs is about £4bn a year because of different methods and offsets counted.
- Analysts note the report excludes some separate government commitments such as long-term carbon capture and hydrogen support and that published estimates vary widely depending on which schemes, savings and timeframes are included, so the dispute will shape political pressure over bills and future policy choices.