Grid expertise secures a successful outcome – but it was too late for another

Published October 2019

We’ve had two cases recently where Roadnight Taylor’s considerable levels of grid expertise have been demonstrated. One case led to a very lucrative outcome for a developer. While the other highlighted why getting us involved at the very start of a project will achieve better outcomes.

A technical grid solution

The first case was a developer who had tried for a long time on their own and with other advisers to secure an acceptable grid connection offer for one of their potential utility-scale solar schemes. After numerous failed attempts, and on the point of giving up on the site, they found Roadnight Taylor. Our Network Engineer, Philip, quickly saw a technical solution. We submitted a highly specialised grid application on our client’s behalf, and they have now received a viable grid connection offer for a 50MW solar farm. We have since secured them a further 50MW for another site – with each of them worth £millions to the client.

Delayed by poor grid connection advice

The second case is a waste industry client who had achieved planning consent for an Energy from Waste (EfW) scheme and was paying for grid connection advice from a national firm of surveyors and property consultants. The client had spent over £10,000 on fees to the consultants who had been applying and re-applying, unsuccessfully, for budget connection estimates. This approach continued for two years.

When the client came to us for our expert grid advice, we identified the technical solution, the key to the scheme, straight away. The relevant system planner at the DNO corroborated that our solution was technically possible, but there was a problem… in the time the consultants had been submitting inappropriate applications, the capacity that was available on the grid had been taken by another neighbouring scheme. What could have been a very lucrative EfW scheme for the client if they had come to Roadnight Taylor sooner has, for now, been rendered worthless.