The UK’s National Energy System Operator has cleared an excessively long line of projects awaiting grid connection by rearranging priorities, and making viability the top one.
Previously, grid connections were granted on a first-come, first-served basis but this led to a waiting line of as much as 700 GW in new projects. Per Reuters, this is four times than the country needs to hit its 2030 decarbonization targets, because most of these projects are in line with these targets. Those that were deemed incompatible with the net-zero targets were also dropped.
“These changes will cut grid bottlenecks by prioritising ready-to-build projects, giving certainty about when and where they can connect and unlocking billions in clean energy investment,” the chief operating officer of the grid operator, Kayte O’Neill, said as quoted by Reuters.
As a result of the overhaul, NESO identified projects of a total 132 GW as crucial for the UK’s green goals for 2030, and another 151 GW were identified as necessary to get built by 2035. Project with a total capacity of over 300 GW were canceled. Of this, 153 GW were battery storage capacity.
“We inherited a broken system where ‘zombie’ projects were allowed to hold up grid connections for viable projects that will bring investment, jobs and economic growth,” Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the National Energy System Operator has also assessed applications for grid connection by large consumers including data center operators. Some 99 GW in such applications will be fat-tracked, NESO said.
The net-zero efforts of a string of UK government are being blamed for the cost of living crisis that millions of Britons face. Ed Miliband is blaming international gas prices, which, however, have plummeted since 2022, while electricity prices for Britons continue to climb higher.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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