Recommendation 37

We noted that renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are determined by the weather, making them intermittent; a view supported by Hydrogen UK. DESNZ recognised that electricity-based heating may change existing patterns in demand for electricity. It said that it therefore needed to make sure the power system can reliably manage peaks and troughs in both supply and demand for electricity throughout the day. DESNZ explained that this was likely to require new low-carbon technologies that provide flexible sources of energy, especially in the winter months, such as gas-fired power stations with carbon capture, hydrogen power or long-duration storage.74