iStock
National Grid has said 175 clean energy projects will have their connections to the grid sped up with a £90m upgrade to a major “bottleneck” on the network.
The 82km upgrade of one its high voltage overhead electricity lines, between Bramley in Hampshire and Melksham in Wiltshire, has been brought forward by a year and works will now begin in January 2024, finishing in October 2025.
The £90m investment includes replacing conductors – the wires strung between the 229 pylons on the route – with new cables that can operate at a higher temperature and therefore allow more power to pass through the transmission circuit.
The upgrade of approximately 3000MVA (megavolt-amperes) will allow increased flow of electricity out of South West England on the high voltage network, removing a constraint for the 175 projects looking to connect in the region, which currently have connection dates of 2028 and beyond.
A recent report from Centrica found that the UK’s existing connection queue is massively oversubscribed, with many projects forced to wait years before exporting the electricity generated.
As the target to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2035 looms ever closer, developers told E+T earlier this year that delays are putting both the UK’s climate targets and energy security at risk.
National Grid recently said it would accelerate up to 20GW of grid connections across its transmission and distribution networks – the equivalent capacity of six Hinkley Point C nuclear power stations – including accelerating 10GW of battery storage projects by up to four years.
Alice Delahunty, president at National Grid Electricity Transmission, said: “Accelerating grid connections for clean energy projects is a massive priority for us. We recognise the urgency which is why we have brought this project forward to make a real difference for our customers.
“The need to build new network infrastructure is widely acknowledged, but upgrade projects to existing power lines such as this are an equally important part of how we are making sure the grid is fit for the future. We look forward to completing the work and working with customers to accelerate clean energy connections to the grid.”
Graham Stuart, networks minister, said: “We recently announced the most radical grid upgrade since the 1950s. The plans will halve the time it takes to build power lines from 14 years to seven, and cut the average delay to connect projects to the grid from five years to just six months.
“This £90m upgrade to the power network means clean energy projects will be hooked up earlier, boosting our capacity and accelerating our path to net zero and greater energy security.”
