Britain Offers Grid Connections to More Than 700 Projects In Energy Investment Push

Britain has offered grid connections to more than 700 projects, the country's power planning body said on Wednesday, under a reformed allocation system expected to help unlock up to £40 billion in annual clean power investment.

The allocations follow recent reforms replacing a "first come, first served" connection system that had led to bottlenecks, said the National Energy System Operator.

"These offers give developers the certainty they need to invest, supporting economic growth," Kayte O’Neill, NESO's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Offers were made to 713 of 1,223 projects in a 2030 pipeline including offshore and onshore wind, solar, battery storage, gas and hydro, NESO said.

They represent some 37 gigawatts of capacity against 132 GW which NESO says is needed to reach the UK's targets as it looks to largely decarbonise its power sector by 2030, with some 111 GW already installed.

The projects could help unlock up to £40 billion in annual clean energy investment as Britain grows its clean energy system, according to a statement issued by the Energy Networks Association (ENA) and network operators.

Projects must now meet stricter criteria, including securing planning permission, land rights and alignment with the government’s clean energy ambitions to be considered for grid access.

Reaching Britain's 2030 targets will require connecting many more renewable power plants such as wind and solar and thousands of kilometres of new electricity lines.

(Reuters)