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SHEPTON MALLET, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 10: Electrical pylons carry electricity cables across fields still covered in early morning mist on October 10, 2022 near Shepton Mallet, England. The UK government has published documents with plans for Britain should it have to go ‘lights out’ this winter after the National Grid warned there could be blackouts due to the ongoing energy crisis. There are fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin will restrict gas supplies to Europe and although the UK does not rely on Russian energy supply, it does import from electricity and gas from European countries that do. With many consumers already facing a cost of living crisis, energy black outs look set to compound their misery this winter. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Grid grind

Technology

Wednesday 23 August 2023

Grid grind

Deputy Editor

Giles Whittell
SHEPTON MALLET, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 10: Electrical pylons carry electricity cables across fields still covered in early morning mist on October 10, 2022 near Shepton Mallet, England. The UK government has published documents with plans for Britain should it have to go ‘lights out’ this winter after the National Grid warned there could be blackouts due to the ongoing energy crisis. There are fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin will restrict gas supplies to Europe and although the UK does not rely on Russian energy supply, it does import from electricity and gas from European countries that do. With many consumers already facing a cost of living crisis, energy black outs look set to compound their misery this winter. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

The UK can’t build connections fast enough

Britain has done a great job of decarbonising its power generation sector but it is doing a lousy job of powering up its grid. Electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050 if the goal of net zero carbon emissions by then is met, but the UK grid can barely handle current needs and entrepreneurs are being told new connections for power-hungry businesses will take up to seven years. The FT paints a depressing picture of infrastructure planning that entirely fails to match the moment. A midlands metals fabricator who wants to be part of the solution by installing enough solar panels to be self-sufficient is told he’ll have to contribute £3 million towards grid upgrades and wait till 2032 to plug in the panels. Spare a thought for whisky distillers facing a ten-fold increase in electricity demand to produce steam without fossil fuels, and British Steel, now Chinese owned, hoping to switch to electric arc furnaces which each consume as much power as 200,000 homes. There is an alternative in hydrogen, but that too has to be made with green power. A whole new level of ambition is required.

Photograph Matt Cardy/Getty Images

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