With decade-long grid connection queues becoming the norm in recent years, the pitfalls of the existing application process are under the spotlight.

Grid reform is underway to connect renewable energy projects as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure the successful electrification of the UK electricity network. 

The turn of the year saw the National Energy System Operator (NESO) pause new grid connection applications to allow NESO to “reorder the queue and start from a stable base,” according to Matt Vickers, director of connections reform at NESO. With the pause taking effect from 29 January, projects are now only able to apply for a grid connection during designated windows throughout the year, and must meet key progress milestones to keep the place.

The reform proposals see the introduction of two formal ‘gates’. At Gate 1, which will be optional for new projects, developers can assess the feasibility of their projects and receive an indicative grid connection date and connection point. Gate 2 is where projects receive a firm connection date and connection point.

With projects amounting to 750GW waiting to be connected, the reform proposals seek to relieve the queue of ‘zombie projects’ and expedite needed and viable projects to build and generation assessed on ‘readiness’ and ‘strategic alignment’, being Gate 2 criteria.

To be ‘ready’, projects must demonstrate they have secured appropriate land rights or planning permission in order to receive a confirmed connection offer and a place in the reformed connections queue, with strategic alignment criteria ensuring the project fits in with the pathways in the Government’s Clean Power 2030 Plan (CP30 Plan).

As the aim is to reduce the grid connection decision process to as little as six months for some projects, and as land rights are to form a prerequisite requirement at the point of application, early developer and landowner engagement is going to be critical going forward.

The ‘Original Red Line Boundary’ – the extent of the landowner’s land the developer has rights over – will be used by NESO as a basis for any ongoing compliance in the queue, so project design and the extent of land rights will carry a greater weighting in the grid connection process than they have in the past, where land rights were often negotiated once the developer was in receipt of a grid offer.

In addition to the introduction of the readiness criteria, NESO also proposes to introduce a Progression Commitment Fee. This fee will be subject to a defined activation trigger, so developers would have to pay on termination or reduction in capacity, with the fee increasing over time.

We believe these proposals will encourage developers to regularly assess the viability of their schemes, in turn ensuring that viable projects in the queue continue to progress to generation and those that are not fit to advance leave the queue.

With elements of the reform now being implemented, it is clear that the move from a “first-come, first-served” basis to a “first ready and needed, first connected” basis is being pushed forward by the Labour Government as it seeks to achieve the ambition for Great Britain to be supplied with clean power by 2030.