Britain had been handing out grid connections
As long as a developer had
a plan for a solar or wind farm,
they could obtain a grid connection,
regardless of whether the project
would actually move to the connection phase.
The build-up of these so-called zombie projects
meant that other units that were ready to connect,
couldn't, or only received a connection date
well into the late 2030s.
This system has led to an existing queue
of more than 700 GW of generation capacity
waiting in line to connect to the grid.
This is around double the country will need
to meet demand as it transitions
to a decarbonised economy
and has prompted calls for a radical shake-up.
it would be a six-monthly process under which
projects in the queue are assessed for readiness
in terms of having the necessary planning consents
and also potentially in terms of being consistent
with the Clean Power 2030 objectives.
And those criteria will then determine
which projects can then proceed
a firm connection offer
and the corresponding investment.
In the meantime
the UK's grid operator
will stop new projects joining the queue
from the end of the month,
until further notice.
on a first come, first served basis.
There'll be a one-off process expected
in Q2 of this year and then thereafter
through to the next stage of being given
