More than half of clean energy schemes needed for Labour’s 2030 target offered grid connection
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- Neso has offered grid connection dates to more than 700 clean energy projects in Great Britain since the start of the year, representing almost 60% of the 1,200 schemes needed to meet the government's 2030 clean power target.
- The ready-to-go projects — spanning wind, solar, battery storage, gas and hydro — amount to 37 gigawatts of new electricity capacity, roughly a third of the 100GW required for the virtually carbon-free grid by 2030.
- Neso's two-year reform, which began in late 2023, pulled the plug on hundreds of speculative 'zombie projects' that had clogged the first-come, first-served queueing system, which had grown to more than twice the capacity needed for net zero by 2050.
- New connection rules require projects to meet stricter criteria before applying — including securing planning permission, land rights, and alignment with government clean energy targets — so only schemes highly likely to be delivered will receive a connection date.
- Energy minister Michael Shanks said the milestone would 'help protect bill payers from fossil fuel price spikes' and deliver clean energy that the country can control.
- Neso chief operating officer Kayte O'Neill said the reforms are 'delivering real results' and that the offers give developers the certainty they need to invest.
Why it matters: With 37GW of the 100GW needed for the 2030 target now offered grid connections, the UK's clean power buildout is moving from pledge to pipeline — developers gain the investment certainty that the old speculative queue denied them, and bill payers stand to benefit from domestically generated power insulated from fossil fuel price spikes. Roughly 500 of the 1,200 required projects still lack connection dates, so Neso's next phase will determine whether the 2030 ambition is actually delivered.
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