Ofgem announced grid reforms on 14 February that will take the GB grid from a first-come, first-served system to one that prioritizes projects for connection based on their degree of readiness and perceived importance to hitting the government’s clean power targets.
Announcing it as “a step change in tackling delays and shortening queues”, Ofgem said the new system would see accelerated new offers made by the end of the year, with the first connected and operational from 2026.
“Britain will not get a clean power grid by 2030 unless an unprecedented volume of new renewable power and storage is connected to electricity networks – that’s why we’re cutting back the red tape and replacing the out-of-date connections system,” said Akshay Kaul, Ofgem’s Director General for Infrastructure.
Under the proposals, projects would be fast-tracked if they can be operational quickly and are needed to hit the government’s clean power targets for 2030. So the reforms prioritise projects that are “ready” and “needed”.
The connections queue currently has more than 700GW of projects waiting to connect, as Scottish Renewables’ Stephen McKellar pointed out – indeed, this is almost four times the electricity demand we will need by 2050, he said. He welcomed “Ofgem’s continued efforts to address this issue through reform.”
Stephen Morrish of Xlinks said the proposed measures “would go far to ensure a faster connection to the grid for developers and prioritise market-ready projects that move the dial in a sustainable way.”
The basis for picking winners wasn’t immediately apparent. Stephen McKellar commented: “While these moves from Ofgem are welcome, it is vital for the future success of Scotland’s renewable energy industry that any decisions on moving or removing projects with grid connection agreements are based on sound, evidence-driven analysis to avoid unintended and potentially negative consequences.
Shraiya Thapa, Clean Energy Knowledge Lead at law firm Freeths, said: “For certain regions and technology types in particular (namely battery energy storage) this will create inevitable winners and losers when it comes to projects as the connection queue is currently massively oversubscribed in comparison to the government’s clean power 2030 targets. In order to deliver in these targets, project developers who end up being grid connection ‘winners’ will still need to see accompanying build out of much needed grid infrastructure as well as much promised planning reform.”
Of course, one of the key roadblocks when it comes to renewables’ ability to provide cheap, available power is intermittency, a matter seemingly unaddressed by this latest reforms proposal.
Morrish said: “The UK must also diversify its energy mix to shore up a supply of firm and flexible clean power even when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
“Alternative technologies such as interconnectors will be critical to diversify our clean energy supply – avoiding costly gas imports which knock on to our bills.”
