Ongoing geopolitical tensions (The Israel/US-Iran conflict) continue to impact communities and infrastructure in the Middle East, as well as energy markets across the world. In the past month, the UK Government has been responding to the resulting increasing electricity prices by working to limit British manufacturers’ electricity bills, and by considering action to decouple the cost of electricity from more expensive gas prices.

Alongside these updates, the UK also saw records broken by both wind and solar electricity generation, as well as in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. You can find out more about these milestones, alongside other news in renewable energy and sustainability, in this month’s Bryt Insight. Read more below:

In the first half of April, short-term wholesale electricity prices decreased, due to a combination of: 

• Lower electricity demand for heating and lighting from warmer and longer days. 

• Increased renewable energy generation, with more generation from both solar and wind energy. 

• A number of nuclear reactors that have been turned back on after maintenance, helping to boost generation levels. 

These factors counteracted the impact of reduced energy imports from France, which saw reduced renewable and nuclear generation, and from Norway, which saw lower hydro reservoir levels after a relatively dry winter. The factors also counteracted the rise in carbon prices, as the end of the compliance period for carbon increased demand, with organisations looking to purchase carbon allowances for the coming compliance period. 

In the second half of the month, day-ahead and month-ahead short-term wholesale electricity prices both increased, because wind generation decreased, reducing availability of supply. Increased solar and wind generation in France meant that the UK could import energy to reduce this impact, but this was limited, as maintenance on the interconnector meant a lower import capacity of 1GW. 

Long-term wholesale electricity prices have continued to be significantly impacted by the ongoing Israel/US-Iran conflict. When a ceasefire was announced on 8th April, wholesale electricity prices began to fall, before rising again to pre-ceasefire levels as the conflict continued.

Due to the impact of the conflict, long-term electricity prices remain high, outweighing the increased renewable and nuclear electricity generation and reduced electricity demand that resulted in the decrease seen in short-term wholesale electricity prices.

The ongoing Israel/US-Iran conflict is likely to continue to have a significant impact on long-term wholesale electricity prices. Effects on infrastructure and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply availability are likely to continue to impact global energy markets and prices, even after the conflict has ended. As a result, prices may remain high, and any decreases are likely to be gradual. 

Short-term wholesale electricity prices, however, are likely to be driven mostly by more immediate factors such as weather and electricity demand. The low levels in Norwegian hydro reservoirs are likely to continue to limit the electricity available for export, and have an impact on short-term electricity prices. This will especially be the case if heatwaves also reduce nuclear generation in France (due to the river water becoming overheated), as the UK often imports electricity from these countries when supply is lower. 

Prices for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) certificates have continued to fall slightly over the past month, with the end of the compliance period for REGOs meaning that excess REGOs are being sold, alongside increased supply of REGOs from more renewable generation over the winter. 

As this year’s compliance period was being completed, REGO prices for the future compliance periods remained stable. 

The UK Government is taking action to cut manufacturers’ electricity bills, by expanding the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS). This expansion means that 40% (3,000) more businesses will receive financial support, with over 10,000 manufacturing businesses in total receiving up to 25% cuts to their electricity bills. 

BICS was originally announced last year in the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy. The Government has now published its final design, and the scheme will come into effect from April 2027. The scheme allows eligible businesses to be exempt from three non-commodity charges: the Renewables Obligation (RO), Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), and the Capacity Market (CM). This reduction in electricity bills for eligible businesses is expected to create £600 million of savings per year from April 2027, without causing any increase to those not benefitting from the scheme, as funds are expected to come from energy system adjustments and Exchequer funding. 

Eligible industries include particularly high energy users, such as automotive, aerospace, steel, medical companies, recycling businesses, and plastic producers. As these industries tend to use more energy, they will be impacted significantly by rising energy costs, so this scheme helps to ensure competitiveness for the UK’s industrial base. As well as the cuts to their bills from 2027, businesses benefiting from BICS will receive a one-off additional payment in 2027. This is to account for the support they would have received since April 2026, had BICS been in place at that point. 

The scheme promises to boost the UK’s competitiveness, whilst lowering costs and increasing stability. You can find out more about this update, here¹.

The recent damage to the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) processing facilities in Iran and the surrounding regions, as well as the restricted export routes, has limited gas supply in Europe and the UK. This has consequently caused the UK’s electricity prices to increase, with the price of electricity closely linked to the cost of gas. In response, the UK Government has announced their intention to decouple electricity prices from gas prices by investing more heavily in homegrown renewable energy², to limit the potential impact of any future geopolitical conflicts on the UK’s electricity prices. They are doing this by increasing the Electricity Generator Levy and encouraging the signing of contracts through the Wholesale Contract for Difference (WCfD) scheme. 

The Electricity Generator Levy 

In the past, gas price spikes have resulted in increased revenue earnings for some low-carbon electricity generators. To recognise this impact, in 2022 the Government introduced the Electricity Generator Levy, a windfall tax for older renewable energy and nuclear plants, taxing generators on earnings above a certain benchmark. The Government has now announced that, from 1st July 2026, they will increase this levy from 45% to 55%, contributing to spending for the Government to use to support businesses and households during times of high electricity prices. 

The Wholesale Contract for Difference (WCfD) scheme 

To avoid this levy, low-carbon generators can sign a voluntary fixed-price contract through the WCfD scheme. The Government is offering this scheme for older projects that were formally on contracts under the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme, which is funding given to generators on top of the wholesale price of electricity. By moving projects away from the RO and towards a fixed-price contract, generators will be less exposed to the wholesale market, and consumers may be better protected from higher bills during gas price increases. 

This scheme will establish a ‘strike price’ for the energy produced by low-carbon energy generators, meaning that: 

• when the cost of wholesale electricity is higher than this price, generators will pay the difference 

• when the wholesale electricity price is lower than the strike price, generators will receive payment. 

The UK’s investment in renewables 

Further investment in renewable energy projects is essential in creating a resilient system and in limiting the impact of gas price spikes on the UK’s electricity market – and it’s already having a positive impact. According to recent research³, the UK’s wind and solar energy capacity has avoided Great Britain costs of £7 million each day, since the start of the conflict in the Middle East; the UK’s homegrown renewable energy capacity has limited the need for imported gas, for which the price has risen significantly since the start of the conflict. 

The UK Government has also, in the last few years, introduced more schemes to enable and encourage households and organisations to adopt on-site technologies, such as heat pumps, solar PV and electric cars. British households have recently taken up these incentives more than ever, with installations soaring since the conflict began⁴. These increases indicate that the British public are keen to take control of their electricity bills, by turning to less carbon intensive means of generating power. 

Electric vehicles (EVs) more cost-effective than petrol cars for the first time 

For the first time in the UK, new EVs are, on average, cheaper to purchase than new petrol cars. This is largely due to grant support from the UK Government and manufacturer discounting⁵, in the lead-up to reaching Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate targets. These targets state that from 2030 all new cars will be hybridised or zero emissions, and from 2035 all new cars and vans will be zero emissions. On average, a new electric car from the UK’s largest automotive marketplace costs £42,620 after discounts, whilst a new petrol car is priced at £43,405 – a £785 difference. 

This progress towards reducing transportation emissions (the highest emitting sector in the UK⁶) is essential to reaching the UK’s 2050 net zero goals, whilst also reducing pollution and improving air quality. You can read more about this news, here⁷.

NESO’s flexibility service to be expanded over the summer 

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) will be updating the design of its Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) this summer. This update aims to respond to the lower electricity demand expected over the summer, due to warmer temperatures reducing demand for heating, as well as periods of excess electricity generation due to increased solar and wind output. 

As part of the energy transition, the grid currently faces the challenge of balancing supply and demand when there is a severe oversupply of electricity, which is why this updated design will work to incentivise consumers to shift their electricity usage to periods when supply levels are higher, through financial rewards. The changes will also include enabling smaller technologies and renewable assets to better participate in flexibility schemes, and aim to help keep demand and supply balanced on the grid over the summer. 

Find out more about how the updated DFS service may impact consumers’ contributions to supporting the grid in NESO’s Summer Outlook, here⁸.  Or, if you’d like to find out more about the importance of demand flexibility and the opportunities it can offer, you can read our blog on the topic, here. 

‘Coalition of the willing’ consultation is held for fossil fuel roadmap 

The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), hosted in Belém in November 2025, saw a lack of progress in establishing a formal roadmap to phase out fossil fuels globally. However, the COP30 presidency provided assurances that a fossil fuel transition plan would continue to be developed in 2026, with those nations who were willing to be involved. 

Hosted in Santa Marta, Colombia, from 24-29th April, we saw the first of these conferences to establish a roadmap for the global phase-out of fossil fuels. Co-hosted by the Netherlands, the conference included 57 select participating countries, including the UK, who discussed practical routes for moving away from coal, oil and gas. 

Key outcomes included the establishment of three ‘workstreams’ for nations to take forward, in the lead up to the next conference: 

• The first workstream is the development of national and regional roadmaps to move away from fossil fuels, which will be aligned with each country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) put forward at each COP. 

• The second workstream involves identifying subsidies and solutions to finance and facilitate the transition from fossil fuels. 

• The final workstream will focus on progressing towards a fossil fuel-free trade system. 

Ireland and Tuvalu were agreed to host the second conference, which is expected to happen in 2027. The outcomes of this conference and the subsequent progress made will be shared at the following COP31, and we are looking forward to hearing more about the global phase-out of fossil fuels. You can find out more about the conference’s outcomes, here⁹. 

The IEA releases Global Energy Review 2026 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released their latest Global Energy Review, which assesses global trends across the energy sector from 2025. Its findings show that electricity demand increased at over twice the rate of energy demand (i.e. all energy sources, such as electricity, oil and gas), due to various factors such as the electrification of heat and transport, increased demand for air conditioning with more extreme temperatures, and the rise of AI data centres. 

However, the review also found that renewable energy capacity increased significantly in 2025, by a record 800GW globally. This means that renewable energy capacity grew enough to fully supply the increase in global electricity demand, and solar PV alone met around 70% of electricity generation growth. This was the largest ever electricity generation increase by one source in one year (minus post-COVID-19 years¹⁰). The review also found that the rate of coal demand growth slowed across the past year, meaning global renewable generation now virtually matches generation levels from coal. Finally, growth in global energy-related CO₂e emissions only increased by around 0.4%, demonstrating the benefits of expanding renewable energy across the globe. 

You can read more about the IEA’s findings in their full review, here¹¹. 

Great Britain’s solar energy generation reaches new heights 

Great Britain’s record for solar generation has been broken twice, consecutively, in the past month, first reaching 14.1GW on Monday 6th April, before climbing to 14.4GW on the following Tuesday, the 7th April. These records were a result of sunny weather, as well as increased solar energy capacity. With plans for the UK’s biggest solar farm having recently received approval, this capacity will only increase in the future. 

With solar being such an important part of the UK’s grid mix and decarbonisation targets, it’s encouraging to see it continue to break records and help to support the UK’s energy system. You can read more about this record in solar energy, here¹². 

Wind generation record is broken in the UK 

Solar energy wasn’t the only renewable energy source that surpassed records this month, however. Across the first three months of 2026, the UK’s wind generation broke its previous record, reaching 29.2TWh. This number was made up of electricity that connected to Great Britain’s grid, as well as that which was exported to other countries. The total generation of renewable electricity in Q1 of 2026 was 40.3TWh, increasing 20% compared to Q1 of 2025. This wind generation helped to reduce the use of more expensive gas generation, for which usage fell by 16%, compared to that in Q1 of 2025. What’s more, wind generation could have been 11% higher, if the transmission network had a higher capacity to handle this wind generation – emphasising the importance of upgrading and expanding the grid. 

The UK’s growing wind energy industry will become increasingly crucial as we move towards a decarbonised grid within an unpredictable geopolitical landscape, providing homegrown generation and increased energy security. Find out more about this milestone, here¹³. 

Renewable energy generated over half of the UK’s electricity for the second year 

Recent statistics have revealed that, in the UK, renewable energy supplied a record-breaking 52.5% of electricity in 2025. This is the second consecutive year that renewable energy supplied over half of the UK’s electricity from across the year, with 50.4% of the UK’s electricity having been supplied by renewables in 2024. 

Of this 52.5%, offshore wind provided 17.9%, onshore wind 12.1%, and solar energy 6.9%. Wind energy supplied 57.1% of all renewable electricity last year. 

You can find out more about this milestone, here¹⁴. 

Statkraft’s solar project in Cornwall receives planning consent 

Statkraft have achieved planning consent for its 40MW project, Speedwell Solar Farm, located in Cornwall. The scheme aims to deliver enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of as much as 12,000 homes. 

Speedwell Solar Farm will provide other co-benefits as well, enhancing local biodiversity through the planting of hedgerows and trees, as well as new wildlife habitats that will be developed throughout the site. An area of the project will also be located north of Gwinear Community Primary School, to be used as a wildlife area and educational resource, to help pupils learn more about nature and the environment. As with many of Statkraft’s projects, Speedwell Solar Farm will also provide an annual Community Benefit Funding during the 40 years that it will be operational. 

Construction for Speedwell Solar Farm will begin in 2027, and you can read more about this update, here¹⁵. 

Public consultation is running for Statkraft’s new solar project in Yorkshire 

Statkraft announced a new consultation for its solar project in Yorkshire, Mylen Leah Solar Farm. The 500MW project will be able to power the equivalent of up to 180,000 homes. Statkraft is hosting this statutory consultation to receive feedback from members of the public on the project’s proposals, including businesses and community organisations. 

This consultation is being ran from Thursday 16th April to Thursday 28th May 2026. After the consultation, feedback will be reviewed to identify key issues and to inform the project’s development in the future. 

Consultations like these are important to ensuring that a renewable energy project not only has a positive impact on the nation that it helps to power, but also the community that it exists alongside. You can find out more about this update, here¹⁶. 

If you have any questions about how these updates might affect you or would like to find out more, our team of experts are happy to provide further insight. You can contact them on 0330 053 8620 or here.