Overcoming grid capacity issues – Solar & Storage Live 2020

Hugh was invited to take part in a panel discussion at the virtual Solar & Storage Live event in December 2020. You can watch the recording below.

Chaired by Cameron Witten, Policy Manager at the Solar Trade Association (STA) and joined by Jonathan Selwyn, MD of Bluefield Development and current Chairman of the STA, and Declan O’Halloran, CEO of Quintas Energy, the panel looked at the barriers and opportunities for addressing grid capacity, and how we can get the most from existing grid infrastructure to deliver Net Zero efficiently.

Hugh was optimistic about the levels of solar and storage that will be able connect to the electricity networks in support of the UK’s 2050 Net Zero ambitions. He opined that more capacity is available than is widely assumed – and that the developer community’s high failure rate in applying for connections is as much a reflection of a lack of expertise and a broken system as it is a measure of true opportunity (only 11%-20% of large-scale connection applications result in accepted connection offers on some distribution licence areas – up to an 89% failure rate). He believes there are simple and fundamental tweaks that can made by developers and Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) alike to deliver greater success – and that the world-leading smart-grid expertise held within the UK DNO/DSO community will find the technical and commercial solutions that will be necessary to facilitate the energy transition.

Watch the discussion here >>