How shaking up that most British of traditions – the orderly queue – can create economic growth

In recent weeks, Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and other members of the UK Government have been making a lot of noise about their push for economic growth, focusing on how to unblock logjams and cut red tape.

Yet one thing you probably haven’t heard them talk about is connections reform, despite this being a crucial part of the race to make the UK a world leader in renewables and our energy supplies more secure.

Make no mistake, the changes being considered by National Energy System Operator are a once in a generation reform, and I’m looking forward to discussing it in more detail as part of a panel at the upcoming Scottish Renewables Grid & Networks Conference in Glasgow.

Reform of the queue for new grid connections has been on the table for some time. In fact, I can remember the stress of sealing interactive offers in a race to the fax machine. But that most British of all conduct, the orderly queue, has completely run away from us. Its existence fuels its growth, so long as there is value in signing ahead of your competitors.

In 2023/24 alone, NESO received over 1,700 applications to connect to the national electricity transmission system. And these haven’t stopped and indeed have kept rising, right up to the day when NESO called time on the queue. Bluntly, the queue is no longer fit for purpose, and there is a clear need to move to a system where the approach taken is ‘first ready, first connected’ Muir Mhòr recently submitted its onshore and offshore consents, and we need to be allowed to connect in a timely way, in turn unlocking and delivering the supply chain investment that both the Scottish and UK Governments are seeking.

What has been extremely welcome is the injection of purpose created by the UK Government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which is being driven forward by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero , Michael Shanks MP and Chris Stark CBE , and promises to really shake up the market.

This should help to cut the existing queue, and when the reforms do eventually kick in, projects will only have two opportunities a year to apply for connection, which should focus minds and make planning more strategic.

These ambitious reforms might be flying under the political radar just now, but they will be critical in determining how successful we are at embracing the renewables revolution and delivering on the government’s growth agenda.