The UK has ambitions to be a renewables powerhouse and be Net Zero by 2050. It is the fastest country in the G7 to decarbonise. Great Britain is at an inflection point as the energy system goes through the biggest transformation in a century.
Right now, the lack of extra capacity on the national grid is the biggest challenge. The demand for power is also skyrocketing as many economic sectors electrify - whether this involves homes with air-source heat pumps, transportation with EV charge stations, data centres or manufacturing. Connecting new renewables schemes to those who need demand via the grid is an issue.
On the supply side: There has been a surge in interest from power generators - wind and solar farms, battery storage and hydrogen. The queue has grown tenfold in five years, reaching over 700 GW, around four times the country’s projected need by 2030. Many were speculative or zombie projects. This has now been whittled down to 283 GW.
The National Energy System Operator has now shaken things up moving from a first-come, first-served model to one that prioritises projects focused on the country’s energy and economic needs. However, this means that there is now an issue for some projects. Those that are not in the right place, nor in the right industry, or using the right combination or renewables and storage. They may not get a connection until 2030 or 2035 at the earliest and those that are not aligned with government ambitions could get pushed much further down the line than this.
Such delays could cost the economy £15 billion a year in lost economic activity. There has been a huge attrition of projects on both the supply and demand side due to this uncertainty. The electricity required to support many developments cannot be confirmed within a commercially viable timeframe. It means projects are moving elsewhere in Europe.
The grid connection queue is the biggest single issue holding back new infrastructure, projects and economic growth. This is not a failure of ambition. It reflects a structural constraint that is now shaping outcomes. Developers have resigned themselves that the gridlock is the status quo. For some, the UK is now closed for business for the next decade.
Queuing is a very British tradition but the queue to connect to Britain’s grid has held back our economy.
Chris Stark, Head of Mission Control for Clean Power 2030, UK government
Our electricity grid feels like a M25 traffic jam on a Friday before the bank holiday weekend, and you better bring a sleeping bag, quite literally gridlock.
Laurence Johnson, Principal, Utility & Energy Infrastructure Group, Hoare Lea
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