As the holidays start and the midpoint of summer approaches, we have already experienced three heatwaves this year. Further afield, parts of Europe reached 46°C degrees in June. Global temperatures are likely to exceed the 1.5°C threshold this year, and continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

As part of tackling the climate crisis the Government are on a mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. Doing so will provide homegrown cheaper electricity without the cost to the environment. But like all superpowers, there are forces working against it that must be overcome…

While renewables can provide cheap power, it doesn’t mean they do (yet). Although we benefit from an energy price guarantee, something we all became familiar with in 2021 and 2022, Britain still pays 50-100% more than continental Europe. This is because our prices are set by wholesale gas, not renewables. Why is this the case when, in 2023 over half of the UK’s electricity came from zero-carbon sources? It’s because gas still provides the reliable energy we draw upon when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. Then again, when it is too windy the grid doesn’t have capacity to take the extra power, and so wind farms are paid to stop generating. Like Goldilocks, the grid needs things to be ‘just right’.

Meanwhile, our demand only goes up. Electric cars, datacentres and AI all ask more from a network that was built for the energy generation and demands of a past generation.

Enter the Great Grid Upgrade and Connections Reform – badged by National Grid as the “largest overhaul of the electricity grid in generations”.

The upgrade will see 17 projects to connect power from where it’s generated to where it’s needed. The reform is an overhaul of the current queue system; whereby new generation projects are allocated a connection offer with a connection date. This is to fix the fact that there was about 800GW of energy in the queue, over double what the country will need. Projects were awarded a connection date on a ‘first come first served basis’ and therefore, when it didn’t meaningfully progress, it held up the queue, slowing our transition to renewable power. The new system will work on a ‘first ready, first connected’ basis. There are two gates to pass through in this reform. We are currently progressing through the second and final gate, whereby developers must show they hold either land rights or planning approval. The Gate 2 closing date was due to be yesterday. It has now been extended by at least five days.

Whilst new pylons and grid connection administration may not be glamorous, they are the foundations being laid for a cleaner, cheaper, lower carbon, and ultimately cooler future.