The UK’s Electricity Systems Operator (ESO) has revealed a plan for almost £60bn worth of upgrades to the country’s electricity network to reach government decarbonisation targets by 2035. The new funds would ensure 4,000 miles of undersea cables and 1,000 miles of onshore power lines are installed, ensuring the government’s targets are met, according to the ESO.
While the government has described the ESO’s plans as a preliminary proposal that has yet to pass a “robust planning process,” the operator maintains that it is the “ambitious plan needed to deliver clean, secure, decarbonised energy.” The additional infrastructure investment would enable offshore wind to be transported from where it is produced out at sea to the household locations where it is needed throughout the country. ESO called the plan the largest build of its kind for seven decades.
However, given the high cost of the project, between £20 and £30 a year could be added to the average customer bill. Although the government says the funding plans would generate more than 20,000 jobs, these are early-stage proposals that could fail to pass stringent regulatory processes.
Renewable forms of generating energy, including through solar and wind farms, will change the shape of the grid. New connections and grid capacity are also required to accommodate an increasing number of people and companies switching to using electricity for their cars and heating their homes. The undersea cables will be required to come ashore at various points, predominantly on the east coast of Scotland and England. As a result, hotspots for new pylons include West Wales and a route through East Anglia.
Critics have argued the plan would scar areas of outstanding natural beauty by adding more pylons – the steel structures that have previously been accused of disfiguring landscapes. ESO corporate affairs director Jake Rigg responded that the group tries to minimise impact on communities, but while “undergrounding” is possible, it is more expensive and requires more maintenance. Regardless, opponents of the plans have argued that more of the network should be offshore and that power lines can – and should – be buried underground
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