'Shovel-ready' wind and solar farms set to combat connection gridlock

NEW “shovel-ready” wind and solar farms will be prioritised to connect to the grid, operators said as they kickstarted moves to shake up the gridlocked connections queue.

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The existing first-come, first served approach to the grid connections queue, which operators say has led to unviable and speculative schemes holding up clean energy projects that are ready to plug in, has been scrapped.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso) said it was opening a three-week application window on Tuesday for more than 5,000 energy generation and demand projects in the queue to submit evidence to support their connection to the grid as it undertakes a major reordering of the system.

The new plan will see clean energy projects that can be up and running by 2030 prioritised, in a bid to help Labour hit its goal to near fully powering the country with clean electricity by the end of the decade, and to boost economic growth.