UK businesses face delays of up to 15 years for solar installations

(The Guardian, 5 May 2023) Committee of MPs says ‘dark cloud of delays’ hindering Britain from reaching renewable energy potential.

Businesses in the UK are facing waits of up to 15 years for solar installations on their homes due to a lack of grid connectivity, MPs have found.

The environmental audit committee, which looks at green policies in government, has said there is a “dark cloud of delays” hindering the country from reaching its potential when it comes to renewable energy.

An inquiry by the MPs into solar energy has found that the government’s ambition to install 70GW of solar by 2035 may not happen if these delays continue. It found that in some cases, customers were having to wait 10 to 15 years to secure a connection for solar installations.

MPs said there were three key areas where the current approach on grid connection was delaying progress: a lack of physical infrastructure such as cables and transformers; poor availability of data on solar photovoltaic generation, particularly for small-scale installations; and a “queueing system” of applications where developers are applying for grid connections without the project having planning permission.

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The Guardian, 5 May 2023: UK businesses face delays of up to 15 years for solar installations