National Grid ESO has delayed publication of a report detailing coordinated links for future offshore wind projects around the UK coastline by a week while it engages with stakeholders.
A spokesperson for the operator said the Holistic Network Design (HND) has now been finalised but will be published on 7 July to “allow for the completion of pre-launch preparations and necessary engagement with interested community representatives”.
The findings, part of the government’s wider Offshore Transmission Network Review, had been due to be published in June.
It is expected to analyse whether coordinated links would be suitable for Crown Estate Round 4, ScotWind and as yet unleased Celtic Sea offshore wind sites and give greater certainty to developers that have applied for grid connections.
National Grid ESO confirmed in February it would make “minor adjustments” to the queue of ScotWind projects awaiting grid connections with at least one project from each of the zones leased through the auction represented in the HND.
Around 10.7GW of the total 24.8GW of projects tendered in the Scottish round are expected to be included, with the remainder reviewed in a second tranche in 2023.