UK Starts More Reforms to Speed Up Renewable Power Generation

In its bid to speed up the process of adding renewable energy to the UK’s electricity transmission grid, the country’s electricity system operator ESO has initiated additional reforms to enable developers to build their own connections to the grid, the agency said in a news release.

The ESO said it has asked parties for updates on progress from companies seeking to connect to the transmission system, in order to identify “non-viable projects” and prioritize those that are “ready and able to connect to the grid much more quickly”.

Energy companies that are not moving forward with their plans can choose to move backward in the list or leave altogether. The agency plans for the reforms to allow projects that are “ready to connect and are delivering on their milestones” to connect up to 10 years earlier. The milestones include “common sense points” such as raising finance for the project, buying land, getting planning permission, and breaking ground. The ESO said that projects with timelines impacted by network build delays “outside the control of the developers” will not be negatively impacted by these changes.

To help verify whether projects are progressing toward their contracted connection dates, the ESO said it requested support from an international engineering consultancy and a legal firm.

The final consultation on the code modifications required for these reforms is published on the ESO website.

The ESO added that it is working with the UK’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) on the reforms.

According to the ESO, around 220 projects totaling approximately 40 gigawatts (GW) have applied to connect to the national transmission system before 2026. These applications equate to “more than double peak demand in the summer months for all of Great Britain.” However, only half of the projects have reached the planning consent stage and some have moved their connection dates by over 14 years, the news release said.

Five-Point Plan

The reforms follow the ESO’s five-point plan announced earlier in the year, launched to update the existing connections process in the country. According to an earlier news release, the plan includes a transmission entry capacity amnesty that allowed developers to terminate their connection contracts without incurring liabilities, updating modeling assumptions to reflect connection rates, and including batteries on the network to allow them to connect faster. The plan also includes new contractual terms for connection contracts and an interim option for storage projects to connect to the network sooner, but with the caveat that they may be required to turn off more frequently when the system is under stress without initially being paid to do so.

The UK needs 123 GW to 147 GW of low carbon transmission generation by 2030 to be on a net zero compliant pathway, according to modeling by the ESO. As of February 2023, 83 GW were connected, with 257 GW of generation with contracts for future connection to the transmission system—three times as much than is needed, the agency said.

The ESO said it is working with UK transmission owners National Grid Electricity Transmission, Scottish Power Transmission, and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission for wider reform work.

According to data from the ESO, in November 2022, more than 20 GW of electricity was produced by wind for the first time. In 2022, gas was still the top energy source, producing 38.5 percent of the total electricity generation, with wind following at 26.8 percent. Nuclear, biomass, and solar were at 15.5 percent, 5.2 percent, and 4.4 percent respectively, while imports accounted for 5.5 percent of the total mix.

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