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National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) will release 10GW of additional capacity for “shovel ready” renewable energy projects in the coming months, Utility Week can reveal.
The first phase of the project will see 5GW allocated across 22 grid supply points across the Midlands, South Wales and South West during September and October.
It is part of National Grid’s plans to move away from the current “first come, first served” connection model to “first ready, first connected” approach. NGED claims this updated approach will accelerate the connection of shovel ready projects to allow more low carbon projects to connect faster without disadvantaging those that are still progressing but need more time to connect.
The release of this additional capacity has been made possible due to a new flexible agreement between NGED and the Electricity System Operator (ESO) utilising interim, non-firm connection arrangements.
Through a new agreement with the ESO, projects that require additional transmission network reinforcement will be offered the chance to connect now.
In return for an earlier connection, the interim arrangements would mean some projects could be curtailed when there is too much generation on the system, such as on some of the windiest and sunniest summer days. Longer term, these interim arrangements will be replaced with firm connections as network capacity increases.
NGED president Cordi O’Hara said: “Making it quicker and easier for our customers to connect to the network is a priority for us. With the volume of new connection applications soaring as the UK moves at pace to deliver net zero, we know a ‘fit for the future’ connections process will be vital to meet current and future demand.
“The changes we’ve made will not just allow some customers to accelerate their connections dates but will allow a more agile approach to managing connections requests. Reforms like these are a pivotal part of the country’s ability to install the renewable generation it needs to decarbonise the electricity system by 2035.”
A full interview with O’Hara will feature in the Utility Week digital edition next week, available exclusively to members from Thursday 14 September.
NGED’s change of approach to reward shovel ready schemes tallies with the ESO’s reforms to tackle the nation-wide connections backlog.
Earlier this year, the ESO said there were around 220 projects due to connect to the transmission network before 2026, totalling roughly 40GW of capacity. However, only half of these projects have secured planning consent and some have been delayed by up to 14 years.
To combat this, the ESO has unveiled reforms to the connections queue for the transmission network to make way for projects that are shovel ready.
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