NESO has confirmed a new pipeline of shovel-ready projects that will be prioritised for connection to Great Britain’s electricity networks, unlocking 283GW of generation and storage and 99GW of transmission demand.
The operator said the overhaul replaces the first-come, first-served model with a system that advances projects aligned to national energy targets and ready-to-build status.
In total, 132GW of projects are identified as aligned with the delivery of the UK government’s Clean Power 2030 target.
Together with the roughly 111GW of existing generation and storage already connected, these projects will support national targets for secure, clean and affordable energy, the grid agency said.
A further 151GW of projects are identified as needed to meet Britain’s needs by 2035.
“This sends clear signals to those investors and developers with ready-to-go projects, enabling them to get building to serve the future needs of society and the economy,” NESO added.
More than 300GW of projects in the old connections queue will not move forward to the next stage at this time. Some of these projects were not ready or were not aligned to national targets, the system operator said.
This process helps ensure that in the future only what is needed will be built, meaning consumers don’t pay unnecessary costs, NESO stated.
“Transforming the connections process isn’t a silver bullet. Thousands of kilometres of new electricity lines and cables are required to ensure power can be delivered to homes and business, and planning reforms must be implemented to speed up decision-making,” it added.
NESO will begin informing customers today of their status in the new delivery pipeline and Distribution Network Operators will similarly begin informing distribution level connecting customers of their status.
Kayte O’Neill (pictured), chief operating officer at NESO, said: “Transforming the grid connections process is a vital first step in unlocking the capacity needs for a secure, affordable energy transition. These changes will cut grid bottlenecks by prioritising ready-to-build projects, giving certainty about when and where they can connect and unlocking billions in clean energy investment.”
Energy secretary Ed Miliband added: “We inherited a broken system where zombie projects were allowed to hold up grid connections for viable projects that will bring investment, jobs and economic growth. To fix this we embarked on ambitious, once in a generation reforms to clean up the queue and prioritise the projects that are ready to help us deliver clean power by 2030.”
Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley stated: “Together we’ve cleared the gridlock and created a new pipeline that prioritises the projects Britain needs most. We are building grids as fast as the sector possibly can, while ensuring generation gets connected.”
Chris Stark, head of mission control for Clean Power 2030, said: “This overhaul of the connections process is the single most important step we will take towards a clean power system. The energy projects our country needs now have the green light to deploy at a pace we haven’t seen for decades.”
“A key barrier to the investment and deployment of clean power has been the time taken for projects to secure a grid connection. The changes announced today recognise this issue and will help to bring more stable power costs to the public quicker by enabling faster energy network connections.,” said Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack.
“Our grid is a critical UK infrastructure asset and getting it fit for the future, as well connecting projects in the right places at the right time and at as low a cost as possible, is essential to our long-term energy security. Creating the best possible conditions to build and invest in Scotland is paramount for the realisation of our clean power ambitions. We will continue to work with government to optimise the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and take the measures needed to enhance the viability of Scottish projects for the benefit of the whole country” she added.