With less than a month until the country goes to the polls, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) has published a manifesto, setting out what the new government should look to prioritise.
It takes an average of 10 years to build new transmission infrastructure, but there is scope to cut this down, considering around seven of these years are bogged down in planning. The ENA therefore wants to see the planning system upgraded. It says that the new government should introduce robust strategic spatial planning of energy infrastructure, while streamlining and expediting the planning system to ensure the development of new projects can be accelerated, as can the upgrade of existing infrastructure.
While 10GW of clean generation and interconnection has connected to the transmission network in England and Wales over the last five years, an outdated connections process means the pipeline now is more than 12 times what is needed to hit net zero targets. Further action is therefore crucial to ensuring the quick connection of viable clean energy projects.
Members of the ENA are ready to invest £33bn into the system over the coming years, with £22bn going into electricity distribution between 2023 and 2028 and £11bn targeted for transmission between 2021 and 2026. To ensure that these investment levels can be sustained and send a clear signal to the supply chain, the ENA wants to see the new government create a clear, consistent and enduring policy and regulation environment.
The ENA are also calling on the new government to support the evolution of regulation. Evolving the framework is considered crucial to meeting future goals such as net zero, decarbonisation and economic growth. This means the government needs to take steps to ensure the regulatory regime is able to continue delivering a grid fit for 2050 through ensuring the UK’s networks are financeable and maintain attractive for investment.
ENA Chief Executive, Lawrence Slade, said that successfully upgrading the planning system, reforming grid connections and enabling decarbonisation will mean “unlocking investment, jobs and supply chain opportunities for the years ahead.”
