Developers looking to connect renewable energy projects to the electricity grid are facing delays of more than 15 years, threatening the UK’s net-zero ambitions, E&T has heard.
As the country’s target to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2035 looms ever closer, developers, engineering firms and consultancies have spoken to E&T about the connection delays that they say are putting both the climate targets and energy security at risk
In the last 18 months, the time it takes for developers to connect renewable energy projects to the national grid has soared, and Peter Aston, a specialist connections engineer at the consultancy Roadnight Taylor, says the waiting times are now a major problem.
“The transmission network just filled up and when you hit that limit on a network, you are suddenly into major reinforcement works. For National Grid ESO [the electricity system operator for Great Britain] to build a new circuit it can take 10 years. I think...