Electricity networks in England and Wales have enabled the grid connection offer dates of more than 200 clean energy projects to be brought forward under the National Grid’s Technical Limits acceleration programme.

There is an urgent need to revamp the electricity grid to support the increase in renewable energy projects.

The National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) anticipates that Britain’s electricity needs will rise by nearly 65% by 2035 as heat and transport are increasingly electrified; however, this influx is putting pressure on the grid’s current capacity.

For that reason, in September 2023, the National Grid announced the Technical Limits acceleration programme. This collaborative effort between industry, Ofgem and government is allowing projects to connect to lower-voltage distribution networks prior to reinforcement of the high voltage transmission network.

Through this programme, the National Grid has announced that 203 projects totalling 7.8GW of clean energy, more...