The UK is never going to deploy vast amounts of solar, we donâ(TM)t have the insolation for it.
Indeed, but even so, we do get enough that relatively expensive rooftop solar is generally worth it.
But we sure as shit have the wind (and tidal) and thereâ(TM)s all the rest to do as well: EAFs, induction cookers, heat pumps, EVs, blah. We need to race or be left in the dust, like Americans with their shitty payments systems with cheques etc (and obviously with fossil fuels too).
Yep, we have a lot of wind, especially now with modern offshore building techniques.
I think with the right investment and incentives, we can also focus on batch industrial processes, things like arc furnaces and electric cement kilns which can be spun up and down fast enough to deal with weather variations where necessary. Sure depreciation is a bit of a pain, but having free energy in order to dump excess capacity is quite compelling.