Government clears away grid connection uncertainty for new generators

The final plans for changing the way new electricity generation is connected to the UK's power grid were published for consultation today by energy and climate change minister David Kidney.

The plans, called Connect and Manage, will clear the way for renewable energy projects such as wind farms to connect to the grid, and is hoped to help meet the 2020 renewable energy targets.

David Kidney said: "Access to the electricity grid has been one of the key barriers to the generation of renewable energy in this country. There is currently around 78 gigawatts of prospective new generation capacity - some 160 projects - that are waiting to be connected to the grid, including over 19 gigawatts from renewable sources. The new rules will help these projects get hooked up to the grid as soon as they are ready - helping in the shift to low carbon, secure energy supplies."

Connect and Manage will enable new generators to connect to the electricity transmission network and start generating as soon as their local connection has been built, without having to wait for wider network reinforcement to be completed.

National Grid then manages the increased constraints on the network as more generation is connected before the completion of wider reinforcement work. Under the proposals, these additional constraint costs are socialised equally across all generators and suppliers in a way that supports new generators.