UK ‘victim of own success’ on grid delays

The long delays renewable projects face securing grid connections are the result of the UK being a “victim of its own success” delivering new low carbon generation, an energy minister has claimed.

Speaking in House of Commons yesterday (23 May), Andrew Bowie was challenged by shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead about the “wretched state” of grid development, pointing to how renewables projects are being told they will be unable to connect until 2035, the government’s target date for a decarbonised electricity system.

Responding on behalf of the government, Bowie said: “The United Kingdom is a victim of its own success, as this is what happens when new renewable electricity production is developed at such scale and pace. We understand the challenges facing the country and the grid.”

He also said that the government remains committed to the 2035 net zero emissions grid target.

Energy minister Graham Stuart added that it is a “real issue” and the government was keenly awaiting Nicholas Winser’s review of the transmission system, which is due to be published later this year.

Bowie also said ministers are considering” a House of Lords amendment to the Energy Bill to give Ofgem a statutory duty in relation to meeting the UK’s 2050 net zero target.

In the same session, Stuart rejected pressure from backbench Tory MP John Penrose for the government to publish a white paper on the review of electricity market arrangements (REMA) before Parliament breaks up for its summer recess.

Penrose, an ex-minister who was a leader of the Parliamentary campaign to introduce the energy price cap, said: “The review of electricity market arrangements is the fastest and cheapest way to cut bills by uncoupling them from gas prices.”

But the government is aiming to stick to its previously announced autumn timetable to publish a second REMA consultation, following an initial exercise last year, Stuart said: “This is a complex area with multiple interrelated mechanisms; it requires careful consideration to unlock the £280 billion or perhaps £400 billion of investment in generation and flexible assets that could be needed by 2035. While I share his impatience and desire to move fast, it is more important still that we get it right.”