Government releases detailed plan to achieve clean energy grid by 2030

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Prime minister Keir Starmer’s government has today, 13 December, released the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan: A new era of clean electricity which details planned efforts to unblock the grid, speed up planning decisions and build more renewables in the UK.

A big part of the plan, brought forward by energy secretary Ed Miliband, aims to introduce big reforms to the energy infrastructure construction system where “for too long, there has been no plan for building new energy infrastructure based on an assessment of what the country actually needs for the long term”.

Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) says it will now “plan an energy system based on what the country needs”.

As part of this, around twice as much new transmission network infrastructure will need to be added to the nation’s grid by 2030 as has been built in the past decade in order to wipe out the UK’s fossil fuel dependency.

According to the plan, this means 43-50GW of offshore wind, 27-29 GW of onshore wind and 45-47 GW of solar power will need to be connected. These renewables will be complemented by flexible capacity, including 23-27 GW of battery capacity, 4-6 GW of long-duration energy storage and the development of flexibility technologies including gas carbon capture utilisation & storage (CCUS) and hydrogen.

In order to achieve the desired outcomes, the plan states £40bn of mainly private financing will need to be invested into the grid up until the target date of 2030.

Major measures of reform include cleaning up the dysfunctional grid which involves “getting more homegrown clean power connected to the grid by building the necessary infrastructure”.

Clearing up the connection queue

The plan further states: “The answer to some of the biggest challenges we face [is] building an energy system that is affordable for the long term, keeping our supply secure and cutting our emissions before it’s too late.”

Over the last five years, the UK has suffered from a major backlog of renewable energy projects waiting to connect to the grid. The plan reveals this grid connection queue has grown tenfold in that and now contains an equivalent capacity of 739 GW.

The queue had been managed on a first come, first served basis but to meet the 2030 ambition, according to the plan, the queue needs to be rationalised the queue where projects that will aid reaching the target will be prioritised. As the plan states, this involves going beyond Ofgem’s previous plans to wipe “phantom projects”, those that are slow moving or stalled, from the queue and prioritise those that are ready for connection.

The plan outlines proposals to not only remove unviable projects but re-order the queue and accelerate connection timescales for the projects that need it most.

The graph below shows the current state of the connections queue:

To reorder the queue, the government plans to work with the National Energy System Operator (Neso) and Ofgem to change the grid connections process by providing a framework through which Neso can work with schemes “to prioritise aligned projects, resulting in updated offers being issued before the end of 2025”.

The plan states: “We will introduce legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to ensure connection reform aligns with strategic energy and network plans and supports delivery of clean power by 2030.

“Subject to Ofgem’s approval, additional flexibilities will be included in the reformed connection process to manage project attrition and over or under supply.

“For example, projects that go beyond the 2030 pathway for a technology but are aligned to the relevant 2035 pathway will still be eligible to connect before 2030 where there is spare capacity, after all 2030 pathway projects have been assessed.”

As part of the connections reform, the government believes cleaning up the queue will mean crucial infrastructure from housing to gigafactories and data centres will get a connection to the grid.

Other measures

Other measures mentioned in the plan include providing clarity on what the energy mix will look like for 2030 on a national and regional level, including updating the National Policy Statements for energy to guide planners.

The government also plans to bring onshore wind back into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime in England, after it was removed by David Cameron, making it easier to progress onshore farms larger than 100MW.

This follows the government’s end to the de-facto ban on onshore wind projects.

It will further bring forward a Planning and Infrastructure Bill with measures to streamline the delivery of critical infrastructure in the planning process. Plans for a more streamlined planning system include alterations to how environmental impact and outcome reporting is conducted.

As well as these changes, the government want to expand planning consent exemptions to include low voltage connections and upgrades, including upgrading single phase to three phase overhead lines by amending the Section 37 regulations as they apply in England and Wales. It will further provide opportunities to provide flexibilities on the consenting of electricity substations.

Further reforms to accelerate homegrown clean power mentioned in the plan include;

• Expanding the renewable auction process so projects can get funding agreed before their planning permission has been finalised to stop delays and get more projects online,
• Unlocking investment into supply chains, allocating funding from the Clean Industry Bonus,
• Pro-consumer reforms to help households have more choice and access to cheaper energy tariffs.

The release of the plan follows the signing earlier this week of the Final Investment Decision for the UK’s first carbon capture projects in Teesside.

Miliband said: “A new era of clean electricity for our country offers a positive vision of Britain’s future with energy security, lower bills, good jobs and climate action. This can only happen with big, bold change and that is why the government is embarking on the most ambitious reforms to our energy system in generations.

“The era of clean electricity is about harnessing the power of Britain’s natural resources so we can protect working people from the ravages of global energy markets.

“The clean power sprint is the national security, economic security, and social justice fight of our time – and this plan gives us the tools we need to win this fight for the British people.”

NIC and energy sector stakeholder reaction

National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) chair John Armitt said: “This Action Plan is a welcome step forward in setting out what needs to be done to ensure the UK can deliver clean power by 2030. It builds on our own assessment that a swift transition towards a fully renewable electricity system, while challenging, is not only possible but the right thing to do for billpayers, for clean growth and for a resilient economy.

“To achieve this, transformation will be needed across the sector – not only increased delivery of renewable generation, but rollout of the storage, network infrastructure and flexible generation that is essential for keeping power flowing whatever the weather.

“It is particularly encouraging to see the focus on streamlining the planning system and speeding up connections to the grid. These are critical enablers to the accelerated delivery that we need to see across the sector.

“The target is stretching, and there is no time to waste. It’s critical that government now makes quick progress in turning this ambitious plan into concrete action.”

Neso chief executive Fintan Slye said: “We welcome the publication of the government’s Clean Power Action Plan.

“We are pleased that our independent advice on how Britain can achieve clean power by 2030 has formed such an integral part of the Plan set out by the government today.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the government, the energy regulator and wider industry to overcome the delivery challenges that we have identified, and unlock the benefits of clean, secure power to consumers, the economy and society as a whole.”

National Gas chief executive Jon Butterworth said: “National Gas welcomes the government’s Clean Power Action Plan, which firmly recognises the critical role of the gas transmission system – ensuring a secure transition for households and businesses across the country.

“Gas will continue to play an essential role as the nation’s strategic power reserve when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, as demonstrated this week when we saw the need for gas hit a record high – with more gas supplied to power stations than at any point in the last 5 years.

“We are proud to play our role in securing Britain’s energy and unlocking clean power, as the backbone keeping our country’s large gas power stations and heavy industry running.”

Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said: “The energy crisis underlined exactly why we must end Britain’s reliance on volatile gas markets for electricity generation – only then will we have true energy security for every community, town and city across the UK.

“We hold cards that others don’t when decoupling from fossil fuels; the world’s geopolitics is uncertain but, thanks to our natural resources, we can protect ourselves by becoming a renewables superpower as part of our wider clean power mix.

“Getting to clean power by 2030 is tough but achievable; it will require unprecedented pace by government, industry and regulators. We’re already helping to speed things up and unlock the investment needed by cutting red tape, fast-tracking grid expansion and getting more clean power projects connected.

“We’re taking a tough line and will hold the industry to account when it comes to the sector delivering on time and on budget.

“Ofgem’s job is to protect consumers at every stage so that the transition is achieved at the fastest rate and lowest price possible.

“The clean power plan makes clear there are tough trade-offs, which is why it’s vital that the government brings the public, businesses and industry with it on every step of the journey. We will review this action plan in detail and set out our next steps early in 2025.”

National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew said: “This is an important next step in the clean energy transition, and a focus on agility and speed of reforms will be key.

“At National Grid, we remain committed to playing our part in delivering the government’s plan and working in partnership to ensure a reliable and affordable transition to cleaner energy sources.”

Energy sector reaction

Octopus chief executive Greg Jackson said: “We welcome the prospect of slashing red tape for grid connections, overturning the onshore wind ban in England and allowing more special offers to slash energy bills. Britain’s high energy prices stem from years of bad rules that don’t allow us to build renewable energy in the places it’s needed, or make use of cheap wind when it’s abundant, so these are positive steps.

Energy UK chief executive Dhara Vyas said: “The energy industry welcomes the ambition behind the Clean Power Action Plan because it can accelerate the benefits that will be felt by people across the country through increased energy security, investment, growth and job creation.

“Meeting the goal however is a formidable challenge and can only happen by tackling barriers and delays that will otherwise jeopardise this ambition and which have been constraining the country’s economic growth for some time.

“So we support the need for fundamental changes that speed up the planning process, enable the swift construction of critical infrastructure, cutting the time for grid connections and enabling more homes and more businesses to benefit from the expansion of clean energy far more quickly.

“A clean power system must also include the necessary expansion of other established and emerging clean technologies, including storage and flexibility.

“An undertaking of this scale obviously needs a comprehensive plan so we look forward to reading the detail.

“We also again underline the need for the clean energy drive to be accompanied by a focus on improving things for customers – not only by increasing our own sources of power to protect them from volatile energy costs, but by putting in place long term, targeted support for households struggling to afford bills, improving the energy efficiency of homes and buildings, and supporting the switch to cleaner and ultimately cheaper ways of heating and travelling.”

Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) head of energy Jess Ralston said: “The UK has paid the price for over-reliance on expensive gas over the past few years and the crisis is not over yet.

“Accelerating the rollout of renewables will stabilise prices and clean technology like electric heat pumps will increasingly run off British wind and solar in contrast to gas boilers which will increasingly be run off foreign gas imports.

“Continuing to accelerate this rollout is the way we will avoid being on the hook for expensive gas in future.

“The Energy Crisis Commission concluded that the UK is ‘dangerously unprepared’ for another crisis but reaching clean power will be a significant step towards achieving energy independence.

“It will also be crucial that government focusses on fixing up our leaky homes and switching away from gas boilers.”

Stantec UK and Ireland transmission and distribution director Sophie Lee said: “The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and the reforms it outlines are bold, ambitious, and welcome. It is exciting to see the government incentivising private investment and prioritising changes to the queue system. Ideally facilitating the speedy delivery of the most viable schemes.

“However, the sheer volume of work for the sector in the years ahead means we must collectively operate at an unprecedented pace and scale.

“Rapid, meaningful collaboration and information sharing between the public and private sectors, as well as industry bodies and central government are integral to the industry’s ability to deliver a low carbon grid.

“Alongside the delivery of new power sources, we must have a strategic national understanding of the most urgent regional transmission and distribution demands and technical details around new connections.

“We need to make sure we are effectively leveraging the skills, technical insight, standards, and global best practice and then deploying these effectively in the UK alongside local expertise while considering regional nuances.

“Growing the sector quickly in terms of a skilled resource will be essential in the years ahead. At Stantec, for example, we’re growing our robust graduate programme, actively promoting the incredibly positive benefits that come from working in energy and nurturing a more diverse and globally-connected workforce.

“At the same time, scaling up clean generation is fruitless without the sufficient ability to use the power generated when required – both moving it to where it’s needed and storing it during low demand to deploy when demand rises.

“The market is ready with grid scale storage projects, and a clean power action plan should help bring about the market and regulatory conditions that enables the right work to move forward quickly, and with confidence.”

British Property Federation director of policy Ian Fletcher said:  ”This is yet another step in the right direction by the government to think more strategically about making sure infrastructure supports development.

“Moving away from ‘first come first serve’ connection in the queue to connect to the grid is positive (for example, electricity generation projects such as solar PV on warehouse roofs), as is the proposal to better resource statutory consultees.

However, government must ensure that in undertaking reform, new housing and other developments are not held up unnecessarily – we have heard of housing not being built because the wait for grid connections is so long.

“This undermines the Government’s own 1.5m homes target and acts as a drag anchor on UK growth.”

Green Alliance executive director Shaun Spiers said: “Achieving clean power by 2030 will be genuinely transformational for the UK energy system, good for households and good for the economy.

“The government’s new plan sets them up to succeed in 2025, a make-or-break year. They rightly focus on getting unprecedented amounts of offshore wind built, and reforming a queuing system for connections to the power grid that had tied up projects until the middle of the 2030s.

“It will also be vital to engage seriously with communities to win maximum support for this national endeavour.”

RenewableUK director of future electricity systems Barnaby Wharton said: “The Clean Power Action Plan will be considered a landmark moment for the clean energy sector.

“Not only do investors have a clear government target of establishing a lowest cost electricity system dominated by wind and solar, but they now have a roadmap to achieving it.

“It’s great to see the plan set out targets for delivering the batteries, network infrastructure, and flexible technologies that will enable the roll out of renewable energy, as well as specific targets for wind and solar farms.

“We would encourage the government to maintain this focus on renewables, collaborating with the sector on industrial strategy to ensure the UK grasps the potential jobs and industrial investment which could come alongside these new clean energy developments.”

GE Vernova UK energy transition vice president Craig Jones said: “The government’s Clean Power Action Plan is ambitious but ambition is precisely what we need to meet our energy goals by 2030.

“To deliver on this plan we must tap into every technology at our disposal now, including carbon capture and renewables, as well as delivering critical grid upgrades this decade and preparing for small modular nuclear reactors in the 2030s.”

The Crown Estate managing director for marine Gus Jaspert said: “For more than 20 years the UK has led the world in creating the right environment for the growth of offshore renewables, which have become the cornerstone of our energy transition.

“This Action Plan is an important step towards accelerating the move away from fossil fuels and the deployment of new offshore technologies such as floating offshore wind or carbon capture and storage.

“To achieve these ambitious targets, it is more important than ever that we work together to maximise the potential of our marine space, which also means prioritising nature recovery and supporting the many other industries that rely on this vital resource.

“We welcome this report’s recognition of the role our Marine Delivery Routemap can play in bringing parties together to enable a long-term view of how the seabed can play its part in the delivery of the government’s clean power and growth ambitions.”

Centre for Net Zero chief executive and founder Lucy Yu said: “While NESO’s advice to the government sets out 2 broad potential pathways to the 2030 target, the Clean Power Plan aims to deliver on a comprehensive basis, keeping all options in play to mitigate uncertainties around cost, speed, and technology risk, while allowing for new opportunities to be leveraged as they arise.

“However, we must not forget the central role of consumers and communities in the energy transition.

“The British public’s support will be key, and the government must ensure clean power delivery has their interests at heart to keep us on track for 2030 and the critical decades beyond.

“Here, the promised Low Carbon Flexibility Roadmap and the decision on wholesale market reform can have a pivotal role in lowering bills and attracting private investment for clean energy projects.

“Many in the industry will feel that both are several years overdue, and strong decision-making and accountability in those areas will spell the difference between success and failure for this critical mission.”

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