Weather and climate data play a vital role in supporting the UK's transition to clean energy, infrastructure development, energy forecasting and resilient systems that help drive the UK economy.
At the Met Office, we operate on the principle that ‘weather is energy, and energy is weather’. This fundamental connection reflects how wind and solar have become the new foundations of energy generation, though this represents only one aspect of a complex relationship.
Infrastructure and resilience
The impact of weather and climate on the clean energy sector goes much further than generation capacity - it's about protecting the infrastructure that delivers energy to homes and businesses. Building infrastructure for clean energy delivery faces numerous weather-related challenges, including ice accretion (build-up of ice layers), line noise from rainfall, corrosion, and many other weather impacts. Additionally, it is necessary to consider climate change impacts and ensure UK infrastructure remains prepared and resilient to increasingly extreme weather events. Through our Upscaling Climate Services, we're developing even better-aligned data and supporting services that benefit not just clean energy, but the entire energy sector as well as other climate services providers.
‘Weather is energy and energy is weather’
Energy demand patterns are evolving beyond traditional heating needs to encompass new sectors, particularly transport, as electric vehicles become increasingly prevalent. This evolution reinforces the Met Office's significant role in providing crucial data and expertise to support the entire energy sector in delivering clean energy solutions.
While many experts serve the energy sector, they frequently rely on Met Office data and our leading scientific research. We provide a range of data to the energy sector, including forecasts, severe weather warnings, climate data, and historical information. This supports energy security of supply, network resilience, operations, planning, and new infrastructure development.
Consultancy projects
The Met Office consultancy team has engaged in various crucial projects, from updating data for ice accretion standards to understanding climate data needs for energy modelling. We are exploring innovative ways to provide weather and climate data for the Eurocode 2 standard (a design standard of concrete structures that specifies technical rules for the design of concrete, reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete structures), essential for supporting infrastructure development, as well as exploring ways to create more focused seasonal forecasts to enhance winter planning.
As a world leader in weather forecasting, we're actively working with key stakeholders to integrate our Ensemble Forecast data into UK energy management. These probabilistic forecasts provide enhanced weather information crucial for energy production forecasting across the country.
This critical relationship between weather, climate and energy is increasingly recognised globally. A recent report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) emphasises how climate-informed solutions are essential for reliable power generation, anticipating seasonal peaks in demand, and strengthening infrastructure development.
Weather affects every aspect of clean energy provision, and the Met Office continues to work diligently with government, regulators, and industry to provide optimal support based on our world-class science and data capabilities.