The U.K. has an ambitious energy policy agenda, unveiled after the Conference of the Parties-26 in Glasgow last fall, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As outlined by the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the U.K.’s path is to “net zero” greenhouse emissions from the electricity sector by 2050. The targets include 50 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, 70GW of solar by 2035 and 24GW of nuclear by 2050.
Moving away from oil and natural gas got added impetus from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Russia is a major supplier of fossil energy to Europe and the U.K. At a visit to England’s Hartlepool nuclear plant earlier in May, Johnson said weaning the nation from Russian energy will require a greater emphasis on domestic nuclear power production.
Referencing the nation’s slow approach to new nuclear, despite policy pronouncements and elaborate plans, Johnson said, “Instead of a new one every decade, we’re going to build one every year, powering homes with clean, safe and reliable energy.” Whether Johnson can deliver, of course, is far from certain, as he is prone to garrulous grandiosity that matches his untamed coiffure.
Nor is it certain that Britain can deliver to renewable goods the government is promising, according to a recent Financial Times article. The problem is an inadequate electric grid and what the venerable pink sheet identified as “poor planning and investment in infrastructure.”
According to the FT, renewable energy developers “say they are being told that they will have to wait six to 10 years to connect to the regional distribution networks because of constraints on National Grid’s network.” National Grid is a private company that operates merchant electric and gas transmission and distribution networks in the U.K. and the U.S. In the U.K., National Grid PLC is a monopoly provider, owned by the state.
Catherine Cleary, an engineering consultant who advises several of Britain’s generating companies, said, “The majority of large developers are now seeing construction-ready projects being delayed as a result of long queues and excessive charges to get access to the transmission system. Although there are proposals for new infrastructure, the lengthy timelines for this threaten to derail the net zero targets.”
While the energy grid is state-owned, the electric generating sector consists of private firms, regulated by the government through an institution called Ofgem. Describing its role, Ofgem says, The government is responsible for setting the policy for the energy sector and proposing any changes to this statutory framework. We have a clear role to play to support policy issues such as decarbonisation and we need to operate within this framework. We do not direct overall policy in the sector. However, where we think there are important policy gaps that affect consumers, we can call this out.”
National Grid typically reviews interconnection requests on a case-by-case basis and says it historically has 40-50 cases yearly. But as renewables have boomed in response to fears of global warming and economic challenges to traditional coal, nuclear, and gas generation, the number of individual cases has risen to around 400. The FT added, “This is in addition to significant volumes of applications coming via the six regional distributors,” large integrated electric utilities.
Whether Ofgem and National Grid can come up with a way to expedite the goldrush of solar and wind projects, one likely outcome is to keep coal plants and, specifically, the Hinkley Point B nuclear plant from shutting down.
The Guardian reported, “Nuclear power advocates believe the energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, is open to extending the life of the Hinkley Point B plant to help wean the UK off gas imports and prevent a faster-than-expected decline in Britain’s fleet of atomic reactors.”
Hinkley Point B, a 965-MW plant, is scheduled to close this summer. Commissioned in 1976, it was the first of Britain’s unique advanced gas-cooled reactors.
–Kennedy Maize
Twitter (@kennedymaize)