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"Horrendous" and inconsistent grid connection fees are a major obstacle to major electricity users developing their own renewable projects, according to members of the Major Energy Users' Council at a recent meeting in London.
Speakers from large companies said distribution network operators (DNOs) had widely varying fees and standards of service. Some offered grid connection dates as far away as 2017, it was claimed, which made it hard to pin down finance.
Michael Ware, renewable energy expert at accountancy firm BDO, said a lack of network capacity and the need to cross land owned by other people drove “sometimes horrendous” costs. “Getting your DNO to co-operate can be very difficult,” he said.
Stuart Read, procurement manager at Bernard Matthews, said difficulties securing a grid connection had “nearly stopped in its tracks” a 55-acre solar farm the company developed. “Don’t take it for granted that just because you have power, you can export it,” he said.
One delegate said “every DNO operates completely differently”, with some demanding full payment upfront while others charge a booking fee.
John Shields, director of Longcliffe Quarries, said he had been quoted ten times as much for one grid connection as another just 1km away.
A spokesperson from the Energy Networks Association said: “Where new connections are needed, it is only fair that those who will make a commercial benefit from the connection, rather than average bill-payers, contribute to the cost of it.”
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