Despite ministers consistently promising that home-grown renewable energy will aid in tackling the cost-of-living crisis by reducing the cost of electricity, failures in NESO’s Connection Reform process have led to Enviromena’s ready-to-build projects still facing connection delays until the mid-2030s. In some cases, projects have held planning permission for four years and remain unable to connect for a decade.
The company has written to senior executives across the UK’s electricity system and network operators, as well as Government ministers, calling for urgent intervention to ensure that connection reforms deliver on their original objective: prioritising projects that are genuinely ready to generate electricity.
The delays are particularly frustrating given the repeated exceptional performance of solar generation this year. Britain’s prolonged periods of sunshine have seen solar make a record contribution to the UK’s electricity mix, demonstrating the growing importance of solar power in reducing wholesale electricity prices strengthening domestic energy security. The levels of solar generation on the network have also led to negative pricing events, which further supports the case for our delayed energy storage projects to be connected to the network.
The business recently announced £1 billion of investment to expand its UK solar portfolio by 1.5GW. Unlocking these projects would trigger immediate private investment into the UK economy, supporting skilled engineering, construction and manufacturing jobs across the country. Once operational, the solar farms would continue to sustain highly skilled UK jobs in operations and maintenance for 40 years, creating long-term employment alongside secure, low-cost electricity generation.
Enviromena has already demonstrated that faster connections are possible. Working alongside National Grid, the company delivered the UK’s first accelerated grid connection at Horsey Levels in Somerset and has since progressed further accelerated schemes, proving that projects can move from consent to generation far more quickly.
Shortly after the deployment of these accelerated projects, NESO was acquired by the Government to accelerate the clean energy transition but despite promises that grid reform would create a queue based on readiness, to date Enviromena has failed to see this commitment translated into action.
The company believes the current situation risks undermining the Government’s ambitions for reducing the cost of energy. Only last week when the government took control of British Steel, ministers made clear that lowering industrial energy costs is central to protecting Britain’s manufacturing base and yet Enviromena are unable to connect key energy projects which will help to enable this.
Chris Marsh, Chief Executive Officer of Enviromena, said: “The Government has repeatedly said that clean, home-grown energy is the route to lower bills, stronger energy security and economic growth. Yet we have ready-to-build projects where construction could begin today, sitting idle for years because they cannot secure timely grid connections.
“These projects would create skilled British jobs immediately, unlock significant private investment and generate clean electricity for consumers across the UK. We’ve already shown what these projects can deliver. At Medebridge, our long-term PPA agreement with the University of Manchester demonstrates how renewable energy can provide organisations lower energy costs while supporting decarbonisation.
“Meanwhile whilst our projects remain unable to connect, we are seeing multiple projects for sale in the market that have grid connection dates in 2027 and 2028 at largely inflated prices, where developers have no funding in place to construct them. We believe this further undermines the intended outcomes of the grid reforms process.”
Enviromena says it has been left with no option but to make its concerns public after continued delays to projects that are ready to deliver. However, the company remains committed to working constructively with NESO and the distribution network operators to identify practical solutions that can unlock connections.
With the right level of collaboration and urgency from the organisations responsible for delivering the grid, Enviromena could begin construction across its portfolio of ready-to-build projects in 2026, with further projects progressing in 2027 and 2028.
