Consultants from CRA’s Energy Practice recently authored an independent report, commissioned by Centrica, examining National Grid ESO’s proposals to introduce a new queue management process to the transmission connection queue. The report found that if any new process were not applied to all projects in the queue, many of the intended benefits would be forfeited and lengthy timescales to connect to the transmission grid would continue.
The report has since been covered by a variety of industry publications, as listed below. To view the original report on the CRA website, click here.
Centrica published the report on their website, summarizing the findings and analyses. The report shows queue for new energy projects is blocked by developers that may not even have land rights and haven’t applied for planning consents. Read the report on their website here.
An excerpt from The Telegraph: “In a report commissioned by the British Gas owner, experts found that an oversubscription of electricity projects has caused a queue that is scaring off investors…” Read more of this coverage from The Telegraph.
An excerpt from Smart Energy International: “The British energy company Centrica has found in a commissioned report that queues for new energy projects seeking to connect to the transmission grid are being blocked by ‘phantom’ project developers – those who may not have land rights and haven’t applied for planning consents. According to the report by Charles River Associates, the estimated size of these power projects in the queue is 62GW, roughly one fifth of all power in the queue. Read more of this coverage from Smart Energy International here.
An excerpt from Recharge: “‘Phantom’ power projects that lack the money and land rights to proceed are clogging up an already hugely oversubscribed queue for the British electric grid, says Centrica, after a report it commissioned found this is hurting the UK’s green goals.” Read more of this coverage from Recharge here.
An excerpt from Utility Week: “The connections queue for the transmission network contains around 62GW of “phantom” projects that are due to be connected by 2029 but still remain in the scoping phase and may not have secured land rights or applied for planning permission. Centrica said these projects account for roughly a fifth of the 371GW of projects in the Transmission Entry Capacity register and more than a half of the 114GW worth of projects due to be connected before 2029.” Read more of this coverage from Utility Week here.
In Current News, Simon Ede says the November 13, 2023 decision by Ofgem to fundamentally reform the queue for connections to the electricity grid is a sensible one. “As highlighted in our recent public report for Centrica, the situation has become significantly worse in the last few years and is now frustrating the UK’s net zero ambitions. The new arrangements allow for more active management of connections, shorten the amount of time it takes to connect viable projects, and accelerate decarbonisation of the electricity system.” Read more of this coverage from Current News here.
In Smart Energy International, Simon Ede commented: “The first-come-first-served arrangements have led to a rapid proliferation of renewable energy projects, but the existing queue has become oversubscribed by a factor of 3-4 compared to what industry believes is needed, with many projects in the current queue unlikely to ever come to fruition.” Read more of this coverage in Smart Energy International here.
