Justin Tomlinson MP, Minister of State for Energy Security & Net Zero, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero ESE0075
Written evidence submitted by Justin Tomlinson MP, Minister of State for Energy Security & Net Zero, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
I am writing in response to follow-up questions posed to my predecessor, the Rt Hon. Graham Stuart MP, following his appearance before your Committee as part of the ‘Enabling sustain- able electrification of the UK economy’ inquiry.
Connection customers can already use Independent Connection Providers to build connec- tions from their projects to the existing distribution network. At transmission, only licensed Transmission Owners are permitted to build transmission connection assets over 2km.
Ofgem, in its regulatory role for connections, is considering a proposal from industry1 to allow developers greater scope to build their own connections to the existing transmission network. Given the independence of Ofgem it would not be appropriate for government to give a view at this stage. More generally, we continue to engage with Ofgem on opportunities to increase competition in connections and network infrastructure build.
We recognise that investors need clarity and confidence. This can be provided by having clear and consistent targets and commitments, by showing progress on the key enablers like the work to review our electricity market arrangements, and by giving clarity on the govern- ment’s strategy in the electricity generation sector.
We set out our overall plans in the Powering Up Britain strategy – giving a clear overall direc- tion. We have supplemented this with a series of more detailed sector specific publications including the CCUS vision (and updates on expansion of the Track-1 HyNet cluster and launching a process for Track-2 clusters), the Civil nuclear roadmap to 2050, and the Hydro- gen production delivery roadmap. We are taking the next steps to deliver a policy framework to enable investment in long duration electricity storage.
To ensure we meet future electricity demand, we expect to need up to 55 GW of short duration flexible capacity, and 30-50GW of long duration flexible capacity by 2035. Whilst the govern- ment’s intention is that as much of this capacity as possible is low carbon, we expect that a
Justin Tomlinson MP, Minister of State for Energy Security & Net Zero, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero ESE0075
limited amount of new build gas capacity will be required in the short term as the only mature technology capable of providing sustained flexible capacity. We expect any new gas capacity to be built net zero ready; that means that companies might plan to attach carbon capture technology later or build power plants that can be changed to burn hydrogen instead of fossil gas. We are making it easier for gas generation to convert to low carbon, by committing to develop policy mechanisms that will enable gas plants to leave Capacity Market agreements to decarbonise. In the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) consultation, we committed to developing decarbonisation pathways for unabated gas to ensure a ‘glide path’ to a fully decarbonised electricity system.
In the Transmission Acceleration Action Plan, we also committed to the production of Great Britain’s first ever Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP), giving industry more certainty to build with confidence. Ultimately, we anticipate that the SSEP will cover the whole energy system, land and sea, across Great Britain. This will support the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments and regulators, in tandem with energy markets, to assess the optimal locations, quantities and types of energy infrastructure needed to transition to low-carbon, homegrown energy.
However, producing a comprehensive multi-vector plan that effectively meets our future en- ergy needs will, naturally, take time to get right; this government is keen to get on with ensur- ing we have the right infrastructure to power Britain from Britain and achieve net zero in a pragmatic manner. That is why we are working with the ESO to develop a first iteration of the SSEP. This will cover infrastructure for power generation and storage, including offshore gen- eration in Great British waters and hydrogen assets, so we can foster a more efficient elec- tricity system design. We plan to issue the commission to the ESO (in advance of becoming NESO) for them to begin work on the SSEP in early 2024. The SSEP will be used to help plan the future of the energy system. Its outputs will directly feed into, and be published in time for, the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP); a plan for transmission network infrastructure which NESO is also developing. The CSNP is due for publication in 2026.
Meeting net zero will require the power sector to become heavily reliant on intermittent, weather dependant, renewable generation. The need for flexibility will likely rapidly increase as variable renewable power replaces fossil fuel sources and we electrify heat, transport and industry.
Energy storage is one of the means of meeting the short and long duration flexibility capacity requirements, alongside electricity interconnection, demand side response and the use of gas (for example with CCUS) or hydrogen. The recent REMA consultation set out that to meet future electricity demand we expect to need up to 55 GW of short duration flexible capacity, and 30-50GW of long duration flexible capacity by 2035.
The amount of energy storage required in future energy systems is very sensitive to assump- tions about the future generation mix, future demand for energy and electricity, and to what other flexible resources are available in the system.
Our modelling indicates that Great Britain will need more inter-day and inter-seasonal storage
- in the order of terawatt-hours (TWh) to tens of TWh - to avoid reliance on unabated natural gas to balance the network.2
Justin Tomlinson MP, Minister of State for Energy Security & Net Zero, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero ESE0075
The Department is also working with Imperial College London in a study looking at whether optimum placement of electricity storage schemes could negate the need for some new elec- tricity network infrastructure. Early results looking at the B6 boundary between Scotland and England for example, suggests that putting storage near Scottish onshore wind generation could increase capacity on the B6 boundary cable by 20% by increasing the utilisation factor. The study also looks to quantify the optimum amount of storage.
Both short and long duration hydrogen storage will be necessary to support security of hydro- gen supply and demand. Hydrogen storage will be required to manage daily and seasonal imbalances in the hydrogen network that cannot be managed through residual balancing or line-pack as it is for the natural gas network, due to hydrogen’s lower energy density and the current immaturity of the network infrastructure.
Further analysis will be required to determine the capacities of short and long-duration hydro- gen storage required to support the hydrogen network; however, external analysis consistently indicates that significant capacities of predominantly large-scale, long-duration geological hy- drogen storage will be required by 2030 and even more by 2035 and beyond, particularly to enable hydrogen to power.
Yours ever,
Minister of State for Energy Security & Net Zero
18 April 2024