Clean energy projects prioritised for grid connections
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So-called ‘zombie' projects will no longer hold up the queue for
connection to the electricity grid to prioritise businesses that
will drive growth and deliver energy security. Companies are
currently waiting up to 15 years to be connected to the grid
leaving promising businesses ‘grid-locked', and over the last 5
years, the grid connection queue has grown
tenfold. The changes will help
to kick-start the economy to put more money...Request free trial
So-called ‘zombie' projects will no longer hold up the queue for connection to the electricity grid to prioritise businesses that will drive growth and deliver energy security. Companies are currently waiting up to 15 years to be connected to the grid leaving promising businesses ‘grid-locked', and over the last 5 years, the grid connection queue has grown tenfold. The changes will help to kick-start the economy to put more money in working people's pockets, the first priority of the government's Plan for Change. Ofgem is expected to confirm the ambitious new plan later today (Tuesday 15 April), drafted by the National Energy System Operator in partnership with the energy industry. The reforms will help unlock £40 billion a year of mainly private investment, growing the economy, creating jobs and raising living standards as a key part of the government's Plan for Change. This builds on the latest figures showing that since July, the clean energy industry is now booming in Britain, with £43.7 billion of private investment being announced into the UK's clean energy industries. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: Too many companies are facing gridlock because they cannot get the clean energy they need to drive growth and create jobs. These changes will axe ‘zombie' projects and cut the time it takes to get high growth firms online while also fast-tracking connections for companies delivering homegrown power and energy security through our Plan for Change. In an uncertain world, our message to the global clean energy industry is clear; come and build it in Britain because we are a safe haven. If you want certainty, stability and security when it comes to your investments, choose Britain. The plan comes after the Prime Minister has said that a new era of global insecurity means that the government must go further and faster reshaping the economy through the Plan for Change, and that this requires a new muscular industrial policy that supports British industry to forge ahead. Lack of access to grid connections has been a significant factor holding back new investment in UK industries. Under the new changes, industries of the future from data centres and AI, to wind and solar projects, will be accelerated for grid connections. That means deprioritising those projects that are not ready or not aligned with strategic plans. New commitments to investing in the UK have topped £38 billion since July 2024 for data centres alone, but grid access is the single biggest challenge facing these projects. Today's reforms will help fast track projects to generate homegrown, renewable electricity into homes and businesses, protecting British billpayers from the rollercoaster of global fossil fuel markets and building an energy system that can bring down bills for good. Delivering these reforms will help unleash £40 billion a year of mainly private investment in homegrown clean power projects and infrastructure across the country, creating good jobs across the country including engineers, welders and construction workers. By taking a strategic, planned approach the changes will remove the need for tens of billions of pounds of unnecessary grid reinforcement, saving billpayers £5 billion that would have been funded through charges on bills. Ofgem CEO, Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive Officer, Ofgem said: The proposed connection reforms will supercharge Great Britain's clean power ambitions with a more targeted approach anticipated to unlock £40 billion a year of investment and energise economic growth. The reforms would cut through red tape, consign ‘zombie projects' to the past and accelerate homegrown renewable power and energy storage connections as we head to 2030. Houses and hospitals, electric vehicle charging stations, data centres and the emerging AI sector, would also all benefit from the proposed streamlined fast-track approach, which would help boost energy security and drive down bills. Kayte O'Neill, Chief Operating Officer, National Energy System Operator, said: Reforming the connections process is a key enabler for delivering Clean Power by 2030 and will drive economic growth for Great Britain. Today's milestone reflects the close collaboration across the energy industry with support from the government and Ofgem. Together with the wider energy industry, NESO will focus on prioritising agreements for projects that are critical and shovel ready, bringing these to the front of the queue and giving developers the certainty they need to support investment decisions. Tom Glove, UK Country Chair, RWE said: RWE has seen a significant proportion of its clean energy projects face delays in connecting to the grid. Without timely access to the grid, developers like RWE are unable to invest in new clean energy projects, capable of powering millions of homes and worth £billions to the UK economy. Dhara Vyas, Chief Executive Energy UK, said: Connections reform is critical to delivering our clean power future - not just through streamlining the queue, but also by aligning investment, supply chains, and skills development with the Government's 2030 ambition while giving investors the certainty they need. This infrastructure will enable new businesses and households to connect and existing homes and businesses to meet their energy, heating and transport needs with clean electricity. It is vital that close engagement with developers, investors and wider stakeholders continues as we see this crucial infrastructure built across the country. Minal Patel, Global Head of Infrastructure, Schroders Capital: The grid queue contains too many projects, and connecting to it has become unclear and delayed high-quality proposals from being built. As one of the largest investors in UK renewable infrastructure, streamlining the connection process will help Schroders Capital identify projects that are ready and in the right places, so we can help deliver the capital required and investment returns on behalf of our clients. Richard Ballantyne OBE, Chief Executive, British Ports Association said: Ports will increasingly need fast grid connections for both the generation of clean power and for electrifying operations and shipping. Speeding up this process will deliver investment and a faster reduction in emissions across the UK. Ben Fletcher, Chief Operating Officer, Make UK, said: Grid connectivity is a huge issue for manufacturers, and it has become a real barrier to growth across the whole of the country. Many companies desperate to invest in new infrastructure which would create highly paid jobs nationally are being forced to wait often for years at a time before they can secure connectivity to the Grid. We have been very supportive of the work being done to prioritise Grid connection for projects that are “ready to go” going forward, instead of the current system where there is a strict queuing policy regardless of whether a company is ready or not. Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive, Energy Networks Association, said: Ofgem's decision to approve once-in-a-generation connections reform will start to clean up the connections queue and unlock Britain's renewable power. This decision represents an important next step in connections reform, ensuring the connections queue is aligned to the government's Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, and allowing for a first ready, first needed, first connected queue. As we now pivot to implementation of connections reform, the energy networks will continue to work with Ofgem and the UK Government to deliver fast and fair connections for customers. Alice Delahunty, President of Electricity Transmission, National Grid, said: Today's decision by Ofgem is a key step towards realising Britain's clean energy ambitions, and marks the culmination of significant combined efforts across industry, Ofgem and government. This reform will tackle an oversubscribed connections pipeline, and help give us clarity around future network needs so that we can get the right mix of clean power projects plugged in to the right places to achieve net zero. Clare Jackson CEO, Hydrogen UK said: For many of our hydrogen projects, the grid connection process is a limiting factor to the pace at which they can progress which is why we're thrilled to see the publication of Ofgem's final decision on the connections reform. We need to make things quicker, easier and more cost effective for project developers. If we can do that then we can make the UK one of the very best places in the world to invest in hydrogen. Barnaby Wharton, Director of Future Electricity Systems, RenewablesUK, said: We welcome this confirmation of decisive action to remove zombie projects from the massive queue for grid connections… Speeding up the process for connecting up new projects could unlock up to £15 billion of investment in offshore wind alone by enabling this projects to go live in time to reach the Government's target of clean power by 2030, as well as strengthening the UK's energy security significantly. Roderick MacLeod, Energy Director, Glen Earrach, said: We welcome the swift action by NESO, Ofgem, and DESNZ to reform the connections queue, prioritising projects crucial for achieving clean power by 2030. This announcement significantly increases the likelihood of GEE delivering first power in 2030, a commitment we firmly maintain. James Basden, Founding Director, Zenobe: Batteries have a critical role to play in Britain's transition to clean power — reducing both the need for costly, polluting peakers and the investment in network upgrades whilst improving system reliability. You can see this through Zenobē's Blackhillock project, the largest operational battery in Europe, and our recent decision to invest over £200 million into our 400MW Eccles project. Maintaining such progress depends on the momentum government can provide through ensuring long-term and consistent policy for investors and, in particular, removing blockers to change. Addressing connections reform in a meaningful way is one such example and will help unlock the investment needed to deliver Clean Power 2030 in a cost-effective way. Notes to editors
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