The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has set out which new or expanded connections to the electricity transmission network will take priority, in a bid to speed up the process. 

As well as enabling new generating plant to connect, the priority list will include 100GW of ‘demand’ connections that will enable industry and businesses to increase their electricity usage .

Great Britain’s connections ‘queue’ had more than 700GW of generation and storage projects waiting for grid access – around four times what is required. To rationalise the connections queue, NESO assessed around three thousand projects wanting to connect.

More than 300GW of projects that were not ready or were not aligned to national targets in the old connections queue will not move forward.

The new delivery pipeline has been confirmed that prioritises energy projects which are most developed and aligned to national targets.

This week NESO informed thousands of generation and storage projects - offshore and onshore wind, solar, battery storage and hydrogen – whether they will move forward immediately. It said, “Transforming the connections process isn’t a silver bullet. Thousands of kilometres of new electricity lines and cables are required to ensure power can be delivered to homes and business, and planning reforms must be implemented to speed up decision-making.”

It prioritised 132GW to deliver the government’s Clean Power 2030 target and a further 151GW of projects are identified to meet Britain’s needs by 2035 and strengthen long-term energy security.

Meanwhile, transmission network owners have been given the go-ahead to start building new routes in a ‘Final Determination’ from energy system regulator Ofgem. This regular process determines both where networks will expand over the next five years and how much of the cost network owners can recover from users’ bills. The total investment depends on how need evolves.

Around £10bn was confirmed for immediate spend and up to £60bn more will be confirmed during the period, including for high voltage offshore cables that will bring wind power from the North Sea to users in England, avoiding the addition of new pylons in the England-Scotland border area.

A similar determination will be in process for local distribution networks during 2026.

Janet is currently the editor of New Power (www.newpower.info), a monthly report and database on UK power sector development and the UK’s evolving energy industry. She has been a journalist covering the power and energy sector for 25 years, covering technology, policy and politics as editor of magazines including Power Engineering, Asian Electricity, Middle East Electricity and Utility Week.View full Profile

More from Janet Wood.