Net zero will require a transformation of the UK energy grid on a scale unseen since the 1960s – but these upgrades are possible and will bring huge benefits, analysis by Regen has found.
An upgraded grid will allow millions of homes to install heat pumps and EV chargers, and will unlock investment and business growth, according to the report.
The Regen report Building an Electricity Network for Net Zero evaluates existing initiatives from the UK Government, Ofgem and network operators to develop grid capacity and ease access to the grid, and sets out what further priorities need to be implemented to ensure the grid is ready for net zero.
Among the recommendations in the report is a call for Ofgem is to ensure that networks can invest in capacity.
Last year, the regulator cut 17% of the budget for grid investment proposed by network operators, a move that Regen calls “a gamble”.
Ofgem must now help networks to unlock budgets so that the grid can receive the investment it needs, before consumers start to see problems with connections, the report argues.
Network companies will need to make significant investments and this will enable the grid to move away from expensive fossil generation and onto low-marginal cost renewables, it adds.
Regen’s report also calls for the Government and Ofgem to reform grid investment processes so that investment is provided ahead of need, not after the fact, and for the Energy System Operator to bring forward reforms to the connection process so that renewable energy projects are not left waiting years for a connection.
Furthermore, the report calls for greater clarity on planning policy and for the establishment of community benefits for areas hosting energy infrastructure projects, to help remove barriers to and accelerate the delivery of net zero.
It calls on the UK Government to ensure net zero is given proper weight in the planning framework, which could enable infrastructure to be built on time.
The Regen analysis, which was commissioned by net zero charity MCS Charitable Foundation, provides a clear set of solutions to concerns raised in recent weeks and months about the delays in connecting new renewable energy to the grid, with some timescales for connecting new projects to the transmission network over 15 years.
David Cowdrey, director of external affairs at MCS Charitable Foundation, said: “This report set out to respond to the question: can the grid cope with a massive shift towards electrifying heat and transport.
“The answer is very clearly, with the right investment, yes.
“Not only is upgrading the grid essential to preparing the country for a carbon-free energy system, but investing now will bring huge benefits in the form of cheap, clean energy.
“The Government, regulator, and network operators must now urgently bring forward investment and reform planning policy to facilitate grid development.”