Clean Power 2030 – Connections Reform given green light

Ofgem has approved the major changes to Great Britain's grid connections process proposed by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).

Ofgem CEO, Jonathan Brearley has said: "The proposed connection reforms will supercharge Great Britain’s clean power ambitions with a more targeted approach anticipated to unlock £40 billion a year of investment and energise economic growth." The UK Government sees the reforms as a key enabler for delivering its Clean Power 2030 mission by accelerating the grid connections for priority projects, and has also included additional powers to implement connections reform in the recent Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

A new gated application process for grid connections is to be introduced, with the first application window for projects which already have existing connection agreements but have not yet energised, expected to open in May 2025 for distribution-connected projects and in July 2025 for transmission-connected projects. Projects will be prioritised based on their readiness to proceed and alignment with the Government's strategic plans for Great Britain's energy. All in-scope projects seeking to connect to Great Britain's electricity grid, which have not already energised, will need to apply under the new process. Projects are expected to receive an indication of whether they have a place in the reformed queue from September 2025 and revised offers are to be issued from Autumn 2025, with pre-2030 connection offers being prioritised. The next application window is intended to open by the end of 2025.

For more detail on the reforms, and what they mean for projects, see our previous article.

If you would like to discuss how the reforms will impact your project or would like assistance with applications, please get in touch.