The UK is gearing up for sweeping changes in how the public consumes its energy, with the impending ousting of gas and the influx of electricity as a primary source of clean energy expected in the coming years.
This clean energy drive has involved decades of coveting investments to match and support its clean energy ambition, but due to an aging and forgotten electrical grid, the ambition is struggling to keep up with reality.
Queue For Connections
Problems surfaced with the UK’s electrical grid suffering from the longest queue for connections in Europe. Over 200GW worth of electricity projects are waiting, according to research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This is enough to power UK homes 5 times over. The giant backlog of companies trying to switch to clean energy is severely damaging to the UK’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2050.
Many businesses are conscious of the 2050 target and are proactive in attempting to switch. One car manufacturer hoping to cut emissions from its factory by connecting a 5MW solar array to its site has been told they would need to wait until 2031 to be allowed access to the grid and, in addition to the delay, they would need to pay a £9m connection fee. Another has been told they need to wait until 2037.
The ENA (Energy Networks Association) received ‘three times as many requests to join the grid in 2022 than capacity would allow. The UK’s grid was only originally designed to accommodate a small number of large fossil fuel plants.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said ministers and officials “recognize the challenge of connection delays, and we want to go further and faster”.
A Rise In Electricity
The momentum behind new renewable energy developments is expected to continue to build as the UK, electricity demand is forecast to rise by about 50% by 2035.
The National Grid itself has a challenging target to be carbon neutral or negative by 2033. Which without severe investment, would be missed.
According to the 2021 census.2.1 million households across England and Wales have electric-only heating, equating to around 9% of all households. This puts electricity as the third most popular method of heating a home, behind gas and other hybrid methods.
This ‘lack of vision’ or ‘overambition’ represents the ‘all talk and minimal action’ approach from the government when it comes to approaching climate change.
Disputes regarding the processes in queuing for the grid have come under fire. Many renewable assets are blocked from grid connection by projects paying milestones, or monthly installments, to maintain their place in the queue, even if they are not readily available to supply power. This first come first serve system is only proving to be a hindrance to renewable development.
In 2022, the National Grid eventually laid out plans for a £54bn upgrade to the UK’s electricity network, which would mark the biggest investment since the 1960s. It comes at a time when the UK is increasing its offshore wind farm capability with lofty ambitions to install 70GW of solar generating capacity.
Slow and Steady Isn’t A Good Approach
Significant investment, while welcome, comes far too late. The Paris Agreement, signed back in 2015 committed the UK to legally binding targets to reach Net Zero and drastically cut carbon emissions. Only seven years later, the announcement to upgrade the grid is made, seven years does speak of negligence.
Despite troubles for businesses connecting to the National Grid, these are not stopping the rise of renewable energy usage. Wind energy overtook gas for the first time in the beginning months of 2023 and the public is keen to explore alternatives with 88% of people supporting using renewable energy.
As responsibility has been placed on the public to cut their emissions, with campaigns involving ‘reducing your carbon footprint’. It’s increasingly difficult to comprehend how the reliance on the public can be at such a forefront when governments cannot have the foresight to predict a rise in electrical grid demand after publishing their Net-Zero targets.
It is frustrating that in light of the promotion of cleaner heating methods such as air source heat pumps, significant volumes of electricity are still produced from fossil fuels – sustaining a vicious cycle of powering ‘green’ with ‘dirty’ fuel sources.
Continuing in such a cycle is not only damaging but dangerous for generations to come.
- The Importance of Genuine Customer Experiences - August 14, 2024
- What Is the Best Electric Water Heating 2024? - August 9, 2024
- Five Steps for Improving Home Energy Efficiency - July 30, 2024