• Planning reform essential for renewables to connect on time
• New regulatory frameworks needed
• National Grid taking industry lead on helping to connect up renewables

Urgent reform to the UK’s planning laws and energy regulation are needed if the country is to meet the targets set out in the new Renewable Energy Strategy, said National Grid today.

National Grid, the operator of Britain’s electricity transmission network, has set out an authoritative scenario for achieving the UK’s target to meet 15 per cent of energy demand by renewable sources by 2020.  The company has also set out the green revolution it is leading in the industry commercial frameworks to help renewables connect quickly

In welcoming both the Government’s Renewable Energy Strategy and energy regulator Ofgem’s Transmission Access Review, National Grid believes the 2020 renewables target can be met – but only if the planning and regulatory frameworks are changed to help the growth of renewables.

National Grid’s scenario suggests that renewables could meet 35 per cent of electricity demand in 2020 with:

• Connected offshore and onshore wind power making up 29 Gigawatts of supply
• Nuclear and coal  providing 30 per cent of demand
• Gas providing 35 per cent of demand
• Dramatically improved energy efficiency and demand management  

National Grid’s Executive Director for Transmission, Nick Winser, said:
“Based on our projections we believe the 2020 renewables target is a challenge to the whole industry but is achievable.

“To reach this target we will need more than one third of electricity to come from renewables. It is a massive undertaking, and one which will require major investment in the transmission network, along with the reforms set out in the Planning Bill and a new offshore regulatory framework.

“National Grid has already signed agreements to connect 16 Gigawatts of  renewable generation throughout Great Britain but over 75 per cent of this total is stuck in the planning system awaiting planning approval.

“We have put the fight against climate change at the heart of our business. National Grid is taking the lead on developing the solutions to help connect renewables, but we need the government and Ofgem to put them into action if we are to succeed.”

Dax Lovegrove, Head of Business & Industry Relations at the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) said:

''Meeting the EU renewable energy target will reduce emissions, create new green jobs, and reduce the UK's dependency on fossil fuel imports and exposure to high fuel prices. WWF greatly welcomes the National Grid's active support for this target, as the company has a vital role to play in ensuring practical delivery of a revolution in renewables and energy efficiency."

For further media information only, please contact:

Stewart Larque
01926 655274

Isobel Rowley
01926 655275

Gemma Stokes
01926 655273

Notes to editors:

National Grid

National Grid (LSE: NG.; NYSE:NGG) is an international electricity and gas company and one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world. We play a vital role in delivering gas and electricity to many millions of people across Great Britain and northeastern US in an efficient, reliable and safe manner. We are committed to safeguarding our global environment for future generations and providing all our customers with the highest standards of service through investment in our networks and through our talented, diverse workforce.

National Grid owns the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales and operates the system across Great Britain. It also owns and operates the high pressure gas transmission system in Britain and its distribution business delivers gas to 11 million homes and businesses.

National Grid’s efforts to facilitate the growth of renewables have been focused on two main areas:

• Strategic investment in the transmission system.  Adapting transmission systems to significant changes in patterns of generation, renewable or not, always requires significant investment.  National Grid is already investing over £3.5bn in its electricity transmission system in the current transmission price review period (2007 to 2012).  However, the company has developed proposals for submission to Ofgem to allow it to make strategic investments in its network – investing now and not waiting for connection applications from generators as the current regulatory framework requires, ensuring the necessary capacity arrives when it is needed.
• Making it easier for renewables to connect to the transmission system.  National Grid is leading the industry consultation process on changes to the industry codes to allow the company to connect and allocate capacity on the network to generators in a much more efficient way.  In the meantime, National Grid has developed an interim solution which could result in 1.6 GW of renewable generation – about the size of three large power stations - being connected by 2011. 

The challenge for Government will be to ensure that everything it does helps and does not hinder meeting the 2020 targets.  Leading among these are:

• Planning reform.  Reforming the current planning system is absolutely crucial.  The current Planning Bill will help ensure both renewable generation and the necessary network infrastructure is not only delivered, but delivered when it is needed.  Without this, it will not be possible to meet the 2020 targets.
• Making sure that onshore/offshore regulation works together in a co-ordinated way and delivers investment in a timely way.

Resources:

Two new documents are available on National Grid’s website at http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Media+Centre/Documents/:

• a Policy Brief on renewables
• National Grid is running an ongoing study on an energy scenario for 2020 and beyond, due to be completed later in the year.  A factsheet on this currently completed work showing how 2020 targets could be met is now available

www.nationalgrid.com

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