Ofgem has agreed a major change to the way the pipeline of projects wanting to connect to the electricity transmission network is managed, allowing non-viable or stalled projects to be removed to speed up the process.
This ‘queue management’ policy change is a welcome development and means network capacity will be used more efficiently. It’s great news for clean energy projects that are ready to connect, and for Britain’s net zero ambitions.
On its transmission network, 19 battery energy storage projects worth around 10GW will be offered dates to plug in averaging four years earlier than their current agreement, based on a new approach which removes the need for non-essential engineering works prior to connecting storage.
Power transmission is the large-scale movement of electricity at extra high voltage levels from the point of generation to substations. Transmission connections are usually defined as those who wish to connect to the extra high or high voltage transmission network . This network has a connection voltage of above 132kV, up to 400kV. The transmission network is responsible for transporting electricity across the country, from where it is generated to where it is needed.
The connection, delivered for EDF Renewables UK, replicates elements from the Energy Superhub Oxford – which we connected to our Cowley substation last year – with future plans by the developer to link it via private wire to rapid EV charging locations in northwest Birmingham.
We plugged in the battery via a tertiary connection – an innovative approach that uses the third winding on our existing supergrid transformers, and which is a cost-effective way for smaller projects to connect to our transmission network.
Bristol Wood Recycling Project is a social enterprise working to benefit he community and environment. Since 2004, it has saved over six thousand tons of wood from going to waste and provided Bristol's communities with a fantastic resource of affordable, salvaged timber. The waste wood is transformed by local volunteers who are given the opportunity to learn valuable new skills.
Every single state school in areas impacted by the Hinkley Connection Project is eligible to apply for a grant up to £500 (for primary) and £1,250 (for secondary) which the school can then use to buy STEM resources of its choice.
Over 425,000 school children, including 87,182 children from disadvantaged backgrounds, have been supported through the fund since 2018.
The newts were found in an area where you might not expect to find wildlife. Whilst Bridgwater substation is a rural substation, with plenty of green pasture and woodland around it, the newts were found in the heart of the substation underneath a concrete cable trough.
Sea Link is needed to carry renewable and low carbon power from offshore wind, interconnectors and nuclear power to where it’s needed. The proposals include a new, primarily offshore, 145 km cable connection from Pegwell Bay in Kent to a point on the Suffolk Coast between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness. Plans include the onshore infrastructure needed at either end, such as converter stations and substations, to connect the power onto the existing network so it can be transported to homes and businesses around the country.
In the UK alone, the transition to net zero will create hundreds of thousands of green jobs but, according to Boston Consulting Group, by 2030 only a quarter of these green jobs could be taken by women, potentially delaying progress towards gender equality by 10 to 15 years.2
National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) has been awarded £875,000 for two projects that will help develop a secure net zero electricity network. Projects include development of a long-term strategy to remove electrical insulating gas SF6 from the network, and an initiative to introduce a new way to assess the resilience of the whole electricity system in Britain.