Terra Firma Energy – 23 Jun 2026

Britain has extended grid connection offers to more than 700 projects, the country’s power system planner announced this week, under a revamped allocation process expected to unlock up to £40 billion a year in clean power investment.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) said the offers follow recent reforms that scrapped the old “first come, first served” approach, which had left a growing backlog of stalled projects clogging the queue.
“These offers give developers the certainty they need to invest, supporting economic growth,” said NESO chief operating officer Kayte O’Neill.

Of the 1,223 projects in the 2030 pipeline — spanning offshore and onshore wind, solar, battery storage, gas and hydro — 713 received offers. Together they account for around 37 gigawatts of capacity, against the 132 GW NESO estimates is needed to hit the UK’s 2030 goals. About 111 GW is already installed.

The projects could help unlock as much as £40 billion in annual clean energy investment as the country builds out its clean power system, according to the Energy Networks Association and network operators.
To secure a connection, developers now have to clear tougher criteria, including planning permission, land rights and alignment with the government’s clean energy ambitions.

Reaching the 2030 targets will mean connecting many more renewable plants — wind and solar farms chief among them — alongside thousands of kilometres of new power lines.