Covid and Brexit have brought many changes and challenges to a number of sectors over recent years. Please discuss ONE of the sectors you believe has been affected.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated public and private initiatives towards a sustainable future, as the crisis was an urgent wake-up call to how physical events can have extremely advert effects on business. Following the announcement of the UK Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, as well as the Net Zero target, I believe the Energy and Utilities sector has been significantly affected. This legislation, combined with ESG targets driven by investors, is a key driving force behind the increased demand for renewable energy projects and businesses transitioning to green practices.

Addleshaw Goddard’s expertise in this sector is highlighted by market-leading work such as advising Energy regulator Ofgem in its policy for the UK’s first offshore transmission rounds and completing the largest smart metering deal in Europe. This work highlights AG’s strengths in the sector, fuelled by the firm’s ability to effectively navigate and respond to change, by seeking out opportunities that change brings.

Work in this sector is likely to increase further following the European energy crisis, which highlights our overreliance on fossil fuels and the need for domestic renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the impact of Brexit on supply chains and trading regimes has created ‘supply bottlenecks’, exacerbating the issue of the UK’s lack of energy buffer stocks. I believe the rise in the number of UK renewable energy projects is likely to continue in the long-term to prevent a crisis of this scale from happening again. However, decarbonising the economy whilst maintaining a stable energy supply requires developments beyond traditional renewable sources such as wind and solar, as these are difficult to store on the scale needed to decarbonise transport for example (particularly HGVs). Thus, I think hydrogen fuel projects will generate a lot of work as part of the UK’s ‘green recovery’.

Our thoughts

Positives

• Very well written.
• Demonstrates a clear grasp of energy-related terminology and initiatives.
• It clearly outlines, early on, which sector is being discussed.
• It covers both COVID-19 and Brexit, as requested.

Potential points for improvement

• The “challenges” aren’t particularly clear, yet this was a key part of the question. The answer talks a lot about opportunities and impact, but doesn’t clearly spell out what the actual challenges are. I would have probably started by mentioning the sector, then setting out key challenges stemming from COVID-19 and Brexit, then discussed opportunities/solutions/how the firm could capitalise on this.
• The answer jumps to the firm’s expertise fairly early on, even though this isn’t part of the question. It’s fine to mention it, but I would have spent more time on the challenges facing the sector first.