UK Grid Operator Lifts Post-2030 Investment Need to £89 Billion
(Bloomberg) -- The UK’s electricity transmission network needs about £89 billion ($118 billion) of investment after 2030 to cope with rising demand and more renewable energy supplies, the grid operator said.
The update to the National Energy System Operator’s long-term grid plans, released on Tuesday, compares with roughly £58 billion outlined in 2024. The forecast accounts for rising power usage, including from data centers, which require massive, constant flows of power.
A congested grid is one of the biggest challenges to Britain’s clean power goals. While wind and solar generation has grown rapidly, the country’s transmission capacity has lagged behind. That can force the system to switch off renewables output because those supplies can’t reach areas where they’re needed, with more expensive gas-fired plants elsewhere paid to generate instead.
NESO warned that without timely upgrades, those balancing costs could roughly triple between 2031 and 2035.
NESO also recommended that three times more new undersea cabling is needed than new onshore transmission lines, along with upgrades to existing infrastructure to reduce the impact on communities from pylons. It also said that investment is needed to deal with growing electricity demand from other areas too, such as transport and heating.
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