The British government has released its Connections Action Plan to reform the grid connection process to reduce overall delays from five years to no more than six months, effectively cutting delays by up to 90%. Considering that the total connection queue for transmission and distribution projects goes up to 500 GW, with more than 230 projects in line to be connected to the grid, the government plans to move away from ‘first come, first served’ approach to release over 100 GW of capacity from the queue, equivalent to a quarter of the electricity needed to power the United Kingdom in 2050. The plans also contemplate rewarding communities located near new infrastructure by offering up to £10,000 (€11,520) off their electricity bills over 10 years.
The UK has an electricity capacity of 106 GW (end of 2022; +5 GW since 2020), with gas accounting for 33%, wind for 27%, solar PV for 14%, biomass for 8%, nuclear for 8%, coal for 6%, hydro for 4%, and oil for 1%. The share of carbon free capacity is 60%, with plans to increase the number of renewable power plants such as wind and solar to achieve the UK’s target to decarbonise its power sector by 2035.
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