UK Wind Farms Need Pylons in Untouched Land to Upgrade Grid

Eamon Akil Farhat
·3 min read

(Bloomberg) -- The UK will need to build a backbone of pylons after 2030, running down from northeast Scotland through to northwest England, to transport electricity from new offshore wind farms.

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The spine would run from Peterhead to Merseyside and cost £58 billion ($73.7 billion), according to a report by National Grid Plc’s Electricity System Operator, the body responsible for grid planning. The high-voltage lines would connect up 21 gigawatts of offshore wind that’s in development off the coast of Scotland.

Net zero won’t happen just by building renewables; the entire country must be rewired. Demand is set to rise 64% by 2035 as transportation, heating and industries electrify, according to the ESO. Britain plans to expand offshore wind to keep pace with consumption, but moving that power needs public acceptance.

Overhead cables are cheaper and carry more electricity than underground lines, but can be a controversial local issue with communities worried about pylons being built near their homes.

“We will need pylons going through virgin countryside,” Graham Stuart, minister of state for energy security and net zero, said in parliament earlier this month.

Building out the grid is expensive. The UK already plans to spend £32 billion to connect 23 gigawatts of offshore wind by the end of the decade. This cost is recouped from consumer bills.

The issue is contentious even within the government, with Andrew Bowie, an energy minister responsible for electricity networks, reshuffled earlier this year after he campaigned against pylons in his Scottish constituency.

Politicians’ Pushback

High-profile Conservatives such as Kemi Badenoch, secretary of state for trade, former home secretary Priti Patel and ex-deputy prime minister Therese Coffey are all opposing new grid infrastructure needed to connect an East Anglia wind farm, arguing offshore routes should be considered.

Generally, overhead pylons are the preferred solution when it comes to cost and capacity as they’re able to carry about three times more electricity for about a fifth of the expense, according to the ESO. Underground cables are harder to maintain and have a greater ecological impact during construction, it said.

The government has sharpened its focus on the grid after developers and businesses complained they couldn’t get connections fast enough. A 2023 report by Electricity Networks Commissioner Nick Winser gave 18 recommendations, including paying households that live near new transmission lines.

The grid expansion plan won’t work without a local benefits package from the government, the ESO said. The exact design of the payment system is still being considered by ministers.

“Any community that hosts energy infrastructure needs to benefit from that,” Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said Tuesday.

As well as the spine of pylons, the ESO recommends an offshore extension along the country’s east coast.

“Great Britain’s electricity system is the backbone of our economy and must be fit for our future,” said Fintan Slye, the operator’s executive director.

--With assistance from Priscila Azevedo Rocha.

(Updates with comment from Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband in 12th paragraph.)

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