Tanya Weaver Thu 24 Oct 2024
Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2024/10/24/comprehensive-blueprint-will-take-strategic-approach-great-britains-future-energy-system
Energy ministers from the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments have commissioned the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to create a strategic spatial energy plan (SSEP) for the Great British energy system.
The aim of the SSEP is to help construct a “comprehensive blueprint” to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy.
“We require a plan that works for all of Great Britain, contributing towards a more sustainable and secure energy system, as well as boosting economic opportunity and domestic performance,” the ministers said in a letter to Fintan Slye, director of NESO.
This first iteration of the SSEP will focus on electricity generation and storage, including hydrogen assets. It will assess optimal locations, quantities and types of energy infrastructure required to meet future energy demand.
The blueprint is also intended to increase stability for investors by reducing grid connection wait times and reducing overall system costs.
In future, the SSEP will be updated regularly and could include other types of energy, such as natural gas.
NESO will initially develop several pathway options for how the energy system could look in the future and what type of electricity and storage technologies is needed to meet future demand and decarbonisation ambitions.
During this process, NESO will engage with stakeholders across government, the energy regulator, other bodies such as the Crown Estate, industry, interested parties and communities to ensure all views are “incorporated in the plan from the beginning”.
UK minister for energy Michael Shanks, who launched the SSEP in parliament earlier this week, said that the strategic approach will provide the long-term certainty and stability investors have been “crying out for”.
Kayte O’Neill, chief operating officer at NESO, said: “We are delighted to receive this formal commission as NESO to develop this plan and bring together our expertise and that of our partners to develop this critical blueprint for Great Britain’s energy system of the future.”
Gus Jaspert, managing director, marine at the Crown Estate, said: “Taking a coordinated, systems-led approach to our future energy needs will be critical to enabling the energy transition, accelerating the deployment of important renewable technology and protecting nature.”
Earlier in October 2024, NESO said that this winter the UK will have the lowest risk of electricity blackouts in four years despite the recent closure of the nation’s last coal-fired power plant and delays to the upcoming Hinkley Point C power plant.
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