An Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) report published on 24 May concluded that problems accessing the electricity grid hold back many planned renewable energy projects. Slow connections and a lack of clear planning for energy storage mean net zero targets risk being missed, the committee of MPs found.
The report, sixth of the 2023-24 session, Enabling sustainable electrification of the economy, took a ‘broad look’ at Great Britain’s electrification. The EAC identified key issues such as slow connections, limited capacity, inappropriate planning regulations and market uncertainty as obstacles for electrification.
The connection queue
The report states that the current queue to connect contains over twice the amount of generation required to meet the government’s target of decarbonising the energy system by 2035; the ability of these projects to access the grid is fundamental to achieving the target.
In an effort to speed up the system, Ofgem and the Electricity System Operator (ESO) have set in place ‘milestones’, such as securing planning permission, that projects must meet or risk losing their place in the connection queue. The committee’s report found that this has not yet reduced the queue length.
As such, it recommends that the government and Ofgem actively monitor and streamline initiatives designed to deliver grid connections faster. The report mentions, in particular, Ofgem’s milestone queue reforms, which focus on advancing demonstrably ready projects to the front of the queue.
Energy storage strategy
The MPs also noted that achieving net zero goals while maintaining energy security and avoiding energy shortages will likely require a significant level of low-carbon storage. The necessary scale of this is not yet clear, however, and the energy sector needs strategic direction to secure private investment. Actions for the delivery of grid-scale storage must also be established.
According to the EAC report, the government has said that a more efficient and locally responsive system of energy flexibility could reduce costs by up to £10 billion a year by 2050.
It is recommended that the government address barriers to long-term storage, either through direct investment in infrastructure or reforming policy mechanisms, such as the Capacity Market.
The report calls on the government to publish an energy storage strategy by 2025 that sets out the short and long-term energy storage needed to deliver the UK’s net zero goals.
Planning, supply chain, green skills
It was further found that the planning system for new projects might be a “bottleneck”, as local authorities lack the resources or in-house knowledge to accelerate clean energy projects. The EAC recommends that the government enable local authorities to have the personnel and expertise they need to reach planning decisions quickly.
The report states: “The UK workforce overall lacks the skills that are fundamental to delivering a net zero energy system, but the government is yet to publish its long-promised green skills plan and is yet to state how it will measure progress towards its green skills target.”
The MPs reiterate a recommendation from the EAC’s 2021 Green Jobs report, that the government should set out how it will measure progress towards green jobs targets for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the impact of its policies.
The UK’s supply chains also need government attention, as the report suggests it works with industry to provide incentives to ensure that essential elements of the electricity infrastructure supply chain are based in the UK. The EAC report suggests that government policy in this area should prioritise the maintenance and development of the clean UK steel industry and drive the UK technology sector.
EAC chair, Philip Dunne MP, said: “The government’s commitment to decarbonising Great Britain’s electricity grid fully by 2035 – increasing capacity by 250% in little over a decade – is one of the most ambitious undertakings by any peacetime government. We have seen no evidence that it is achievable any earlier.
“It is beyond question that this project, around which there is a broad consensus, will require an unprecedented level of planning and coordination across government, as well as significant private investment.
“Immediately after the General Election, the government must address these concerns as a priority, and set out clearly how it will balance achieving net zero goals with delivery of a secure energy supply.”
