05 Jun 2019

Landowners encouraged not to be put off by lack of grid capacity

Landowners who are interested in securing income from energy schemes, including renewables, batteries or gas, should not be put off by an apparent lack of grid capacity.

Grid availability is changing all the time, with success often depending on timing says, Hugh Taylor, CEO of power and energy specialist Roadnight Taylor.

“Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) are constantly upgrading the network to create additional capacity. Alongside this, many large schemes - particularly battery storage projects - are being cancelled, freeing up previously allocated headroom,” he says.

“We’ve had a number of cases where we have gone back to re-appraise grid availability, and some has become accessible, enabling projects to proceed which had previously been blocked.”

Why is this happening?

“DNOs are always investing in the networks, which is creating additional capacity,” explains Mr Taylor. “Some of these reinforcements take years to come to fruition, but once the works are programmed the capacity is up for grabs, and you can apply for it in advance.”

The industry is also investing heavily in flexible connection arrangements, he adds. “Networks are modelled for worst-case scenario conditions, so there is nearly always a lot of spare capacity that’s not being utilised. Actively managed connections enable developers to utilise that headroom. However, to access it for your site you need to know who to ask, what to ask, and how to interpret their answers.”

The battery storage market has also become saturated over the past couple of years, and now many developers are cancelling unviable projects. “If a 20MW storage scheme is cancelled, that new headroom would almost certainly be suitable for a solar farm, if you were able to secure it.”

Just last month, Roadnight Taylor secured 50MW of capacity for a landowner, for a 180-acre solar farm in Gloucestershire. “A month before that there definitely wasn’t any availability.”

In another case, the firm carried out a Stop/Go study for a client, which identifies whether there is genuine potential for an energy site, which showed lack of capacity was a stumbling block. “We went back three months later and secured enough capacity for a 23MW, 90-acre solar farm,” says Mr Taylor.

“With ground rents of around £850/acre over 40 years, that’s worth £3 million to our client.”

Of course, not all sites will be suitable for an energy project, but where one would be viable, excepting available capacity, it is worth carrying out regular network reviews.

For more information on the Stop/Go study, click here.

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