Labour's mission to 'rewire' Britain will be no easy task - ​Omar Ali & Bruce Long

There are approximately 1,000 miles of power lines including pylons required to meet the UK’s 2035 decarbonisation targets (Picture: John Devlin)

One of Labour’s key manifesto pledges was to turn Britain into a clean energy superpower. In doing so, it recognised the urgent need for major investment in energy grid infrastructure to “rewire” Britain.

For many years, it has been acknowledged that the biggest hurdle in meeting climate targets is the backlog of renewable energy projects waiting to be connected to the UK National Grid. There are approximately 400 gigawatts of renewable projects queuing up to be connected, with 40 per cent of connection dates offered to developers being for 2030 or later. These delays are impacting green investment which could hamper the UK’s progress towards its climate targets. How do we fix this?

Last November,energy watchdog Ofgem announced new policy to speed up processes to connect energy projects to the grid and attract new investment. For years, grid connection applications have operated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. However, new Ofgem rules would hand National Grid’s electricity system operator (ESO) the power to terminate projects not progressing against their specific milestones, including proof of funding or planning permission.

Omar Ali is a Partner and head of renewable energy, Harper Macleod

The new rule would apply to all projects having a connection date after November 2025. The ESO provided that 60-70 per cent of projects in the queue “ultimately fail to materialise or connect”. Whilst these new powers were a welcome change to the current system, an Environmental Audit Committee report suggested they have not yet resulted in bringing forward connection dates.

It is not solely a matter of reducing the queue for grid connection, but rather rectifying the inherent problems with the lines themselves. Large parts of the grid infrastructure are ageing, with the average age of electricity transformers being around 63 years. Experts estimate nearly £60bn worth of investment is required for the grid infrastructure to meet the UK’s decarbonisation targets for 2035.

There are approximately 4,000 miles of undersea cables and 1,000 miles of power lines including pylons required to meet the 2035 targets. New connections and more grid capacity will also be needed due to individuals and organisations switching to electric cars or heating. Conversely, whilst additional materials are required to meet the targets, the supply chain might struggle to meet the demand. Global demand for components such as high-voltage cables, pylons and converter station equipment threatens to outweigh manufacturing capacity, and this could push British companies into an international race to secure the necessary supplies to meet net-zero demands.

Although the added investment may result in the creation of more than 20,000 jobs, there is another problem in acquiring skilled workers capable of carrying out the transition work. A common discussion theme at the recent All-Energy Conference in Glasgow, was the funding cuts in apprenticeships and insufficient provision in the curriculum, resulting in a lack of overall practical experience.

The myriad issues around the grid highlight the difficulties faced in infrastructure upgrades to meet net-zero targets. Whilst significant levels of investment are needed, there are also non-financial matters requiring immediate attention, such as grid connection queue management, demand for resources outstripping the supply, and UK skills shortages.

Energy and its associated grid infrastructure are not matters devolved to the Scottish Government, but with a wealth of renewable energy resources on our doorstep, joined-up thinking and collaboration will be required to improve our grid capacity and harness the power to its full effect.

Omar Ali is a Partner and head of renewable energy, Harper Macleod. This article was co-written by Bruce Long, a trainee solicitor in the renewable energy team