Since its foundation in October last year, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has put forward proposed changes to the Grid Connection system to speed up the pace of connecting new renewable capacity with the schedule.
As reported by our sister site Current ±, Research by Cornwall Insight from Energy Industry Cornwall Has discovered that only about one fifth of the energy projects that were submitted between 2018 and 2023 is expected to actually flourish. The queue of the grid connections is currently hidden by so -called “Phantom” or “Zombie” projects with little hope that they will ever be developed.
However, these proposed reforms are not fully understood by the stakeholders of the industry they should support, as is apparent from a lecture by Paul Manning of Novogrid during the Solar Finance and Investment Europe Conference in London on this subject. The explanation of Manning about Neso’s grid reforms was one of the best visited presentations there, which suggests that the nature of these proposed reforms is not always well communicated by Neso.
The proposals that are well communicated are undergoing some skepticism. Spend against Solar -Energy Portal Fred Stirling of the German solar building company Belectectric simply stated: “To be honest, the delays of the connections do not fill me with confidence”.
What are the proposals, and what are the worries?
The proposed reforms of Neso suggest that projects must meet minimal standards for readiness and strategic coordination based on the region. Under the current system, projects are connected on the basis of the time at which they entered the queue, with little or no obstacle to access to the connecting queue row
The readyness element of Neso’s proposals remains relatively non -contact. Current standards mean that energy projects can be proposed, regardless of the possibility of delivering them – up to and including proposals on land to which developers have no right to use without even the need to warn landowners that projects are being taken into account for development on their country.
The new preparative requirement will mean that developers of proposed projects must demonstrate that they have similarities to use the country on which they want to develop and the process of securing the building permit for their project has begun. This, Manning noted, will help with determining an entry threshold and imposing the bar, so that “del Boy developers” put forward speculative projects that do little more than delay the process for others.
Healthcare, Manning said, comes from the second part of Neso’s requirements for projects, strategic coordination.
“I think the aligned piece of the plan is not really well thought out,” he said. The issue is Neso’s attempt to dictate where new capacity must be built on the basis of projections of regional question, which he notices “like all budgets, will be inherently wrong”. Moreover, he states that consumers, not Neso, dictate where the question will fall, and notes that ‘the economy stimulates question, not Neso. Neso should not forget that the fundamental purpose of the system is to serve, not to dictate. “
While he noted that some predictions can be made with a reasonable degree of accuracy, Such as high levels of demand in Traditionally Industrial Areas Such as Tesside, Hey Said the Risk of Stranded Assets Due to Incorrect Modeling from Neso Put Off Developage from Neso Put Off Developage It.
The potential fall -out of the reforms extends to the chain to manufacturers. Wenian sharp from solar manufacturer Solax Power said: “What uses worry, are the changes in government policy – As a manufacturer this can cause us many problems when we are looking for the development of new products and technologies. We invest all this in the products, but what if our customers take their projects – how are we going to deal with such a short notice period as a manufacturer? “. Sharp added that many of the people with whom she had spoken in the course of the two -day conference had expressed concern to her.
Manning further suggested that although he is in favor of a “good quality barrier”, he believes that once this has been met, developers must be free to take the risk of where they can find their projects, without Neso limits standing in the way. He noted: “Once you have proven that you have the option and the capacity to clean up the country and planning, then it will ultimately be your market decision whether you are going to build an active one here and ultimately pay, for the schedule for it to bring that point. And if I am wrong as a developer, I will suffer for that. ‘
There is still time to get this right
The good news is, as controversial or unpopular as these are reforms, they have not yet been put in stone. The specific details are still viewed by Regulator Vangem and if the industry is not satisfied with the proposals, the best hope that stakeholders have to bend the system is easy – get loud.
If Neso will achieve its general objective to support both consumers and stakeholders in the industry, this must listen to the views of the industry, but those views must be mentioned loud enough to hear Neso. As Manning noted: “It is not a foregone dealer, but it will require much more pressure”.