Interconnectors are a perfect tool to help decarbonise our energy system

The role of interconnectors in enabling the growth of renewables and moving excess energy away from where it is produced to where it is needed most, is becoming increasingly important, says Jon Butterworth of National Grid Ventures.

This month the UK became the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions by 2050, committing to completely avoiding or offsetting emissions from homes, transport, farming and industry. With climate change firmly on the political agenda, industry and government must now work together to make the huge progress needed to achieve this target.

But as we look forward, I feel it is also important to recognise the enormous progress that has already been made on the journey to net zero.

In 2019 Britain is set to hit another major milestone in its efforts to eliminate carbon emissions from the power sector. For the first time since the industrial revolution, Britain will be getting more of its electricity from zero-carbon sources than from fossil fuels – meaning our energy is the cleanest we have had in our lifetimes.

This progress has been made through positive changes in government policy, in particular the Climate Change Act in 2008, which has encouraged the growth of renewables and the phase-out of coal-fired power stations.

In 2009 three-quarters of the UK’s electricity demand was met by fossil fuels – coal represented 30 per cent. Ten years on and the picture is very different. Less than half of electricity generated by fossil fuels and just 2.5 per cent comes from coal – a reduction of 92 per cent.

Just last month Britain went without coal for 14 days for the first time since the 1880s (the first industrial revolution, not the fourth one we are currently living through) and generated enough solar over two consecutive days to meet over 24 per cent of the country’s daily electricity consumption – a new record.

But clearly, we are only half way there and achieving our target will require a range of tools.

The increase in intermittent renewables in the system will require more investment in our transmission network. And in the coming years electricity interconnectors will play an increasingly important role, making it easier to manage the growth of renewables and move excess energy from where it is produced to where it is needed most.

In many ways interconnectors are the perfect tool to help decarbonise our energy system, enabling every spare electron to be used and shared with our neighbours.

So far this year we estimate 63 per cent of electricity coming into Britain through National Grid’s interconnectors comes from zero-carbon sources. We expect this figure to reach 90 per cent by 2030.

Over the past five years we have made significant investments in new interconnection to Europe, with the launch of Nemo Link to Belgium in January and three more links planned by 2023. Our second link to France will start operating in 2020, followed by North Sea Link to Norway in 2021. North Sea Link, which will be the longest subsea electricity cable in the world, will connect Britain to Norway’s hydropower and bring in enough clean energy to power about a million and a half homes.

In addition to making energy cleaner, interconnectors strengthen security of supply by providing access to a much larger and more diverse mix of generation, and this is strengthened even further through interconnector participation in the GB Capacity Market.

National Grid is investing more than £2 billion on new interconnectors to double the existing capacity between GB and Europe. By 2024, we will have six interconnectors in operation able to transport enough electricity to power around eight million homes.

We are certainly entering a very exciting time for the energy industry as we’ve never had a bigger opportunity to make things better for consumers and the world in which we and our children and grandchildren will live and work.

Government, individuals, and companies like National Grid – we all have a part to play in making a clean, green and affordable energy future a reality. We are proud to be making a difference on the cusp of this tipping point.