The UK could be fitted out with a new £58bn ($74bn) “electrical spine” that will help it connect 86GW of offshore wind to the grid by 2035, according to a new plan by its grid operator reported by British media outlets.
National Grid ESO, which operates the electricity system in the UK, is recommending building this new spine from the east coast of Scotland to the English city of Liverpool, which sits on the Atlantic.
There will also be electrical “bootstraps” built along the east coast of the UK to help transport electricity generated in Scottish wind farms south to demand centres such as London.
“Great Britain's electricity system is the backbone of our economy and society and must be fit for the future," said Fintan Slye, executive director at ESO, in comments reported by The Sunday Times.
He continued ESO must take “swift, co-ordinated and lasting action” for the UK to meet its emissions targets for the mid-2030s onwards.
The UK wants to deploy up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 and increase solar capacity up to 70GW by 2035 – the same year it plans to fully decarbonise its grid – along with progressing new nuclear reactors.
However, as in many other countries, an ailing and outdated electric grid is seen as a major choke point on these plans.
The UK National Grid is currently carrying out the “Great Grid Upgrade,” which it describes as the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in “generations.”
Plans to upgrade the grid to help bring more renewables online have however faced fierce local and celebrity-backed opposition, prompting the government to recently set out measures to give people living near new transmission projects money off their energy bills.
The UK’s Labour Party, which has a strong lead over the ruling Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with an election due by January, has said it will tear down the grid connection barriers holding back over £200bn of private sector investment in the energy transition.
