Currently, companies are having to wait up to 15 years for grid connection, leaving promising businesses ‘grid-locked’. Over the last five years, the the grid connection queue has grown tenfold. Instead, under new changes to be introduced shortly, industries of the future from data centres and AI, to wind and solar projects, will be accelerated for grid connections. This will entail deprioritising those projects that are not ready or not aligned with strategic plans.
The new approach is to be confirmed by Ofgem and drafted by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) in partnership with the energy industry. The government believes it will help to kick-start the economy, unlocking £40 billion a year of mainly private investment, growing the economy, creating jobs and raising living standards, thereby putting more money in working people’s pockets, the first priority 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.
“Too many companies are facing gridlock because they cannot get the clean energy they need to drive growth and create jobs” said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. “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. 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.
The new 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.
“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” added Ofgem CEO, Jonathan Brearley. “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.”
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