After receiving Ofgem’s seal of approval on April 15, National Energy System Operator (NESO) last week published definitive documentation for its TMO4+ reform package, which is hoped will overhaul Great Britain’s flawed grid interconnection process.

“Too many companies are facing gridlock because they cannot get the clean energy they need to drive growth and create jobs,” said energy secretary Ed Miliband, in reference to reports of some projects taking up to 15 years to connect to the hugely congested electricity grid.

CEO of Ofgem, Jonathan Brearley, believes NESO’s grid reform package, created in collaboration with the energy regulator and industry stakeholders, will “supercharge Great Britain’s clean power ambitions.”

After listening to Ofgem and industry feedback, NESO made a few key changes to its reform proposal, aimed at simplifying the process whilst also providing further security for near-term projects.

Removal of pause in G2TWQ process

As a cornerstone of its reform package, NESO will hold two submission windows each year for developers to submit interconnection queue requests, instead of the current system that allows requests to be submitted at any time.

However, before commencement of this regular process, NESO plans to sort through its queue backlog of transmission and distribution-connected projects through its “Gate 2 to Whole Queue” (G2TWQ) process.

In order to receive a much sought after Gate 2 offer and have certainty over an interconnection date, developers will be required to submit evidence with NESO aligned with certain readiness and strategic criteria.

Before issuing its full approval last month, Ofgem recommended NESO introduce a “pause” within the G2TWQ process, set to occur at the close of the application window for transmission-connected projects.

During this pause, Ofgem suggested NESO publish a one-off existing agreements (EA) register, publishing the connection point, completion date, installed capacity and technology type of applications it received that conformed to Gate 2 advancement criteria.

Ofgem said it hoped publication of the register would result in “greater transparency in the connections process” and allow developers to “improve their decision-making … leading to more informed investment decisions,” in advance of NESO issuing Gate 2 offers later this year.

However, after carrying out a public consultation on its recommendations to NESO, Ofgem decided to drop the introduction of a pause at this stage. “There was a common view that the pause could cause additional delays to the G2TWQ process” explained Ofgem.

Additionally, a handful of responders said in the event the register gave their projects a poor chance of obtaining a Gate 2 offer, it still would make little sense to withdraw at this stage, due to the significant resources already expended getting to this point.

Some respondents also commented that “the time available during the [proposed] pause would be too short to make a decision.”

Ultimately, although NESO won’t be introducing a pause at the close of the transmission-connected window, it still plans to publish an EA register at this stage in the G2TWQ process “to the extent possible.”

Expansion of project protections

With some projects in the current queue close but not quite ready for NESO’s upcoming G2TWQ window, the system operator implemented a whole host of future protections for developers submitting to future Gate 2 windows.

In particular, certain projects that receive planning permission approval after the close of the G2TWQ window will be exempt from zonal permitted capacity limits during future Gate 2 windows. However, this protection will only apply to projects where planning permission was submitted before December 20, 2024.

As part of the final publication, this protection was expanded further, offering exemptions to projects from both zonal and country-wide capacity limits, as outlined in the Government’s Clean Power 30 (CP30) plan.

For projects looking for this protection that receive planning permission approval via an appeals process, NESO removed the requirement for developers to obtain “refusal or non-determination” from a local planning authority prior to closure of the G2TWQ window.

According to recent analysis carried out by law firm Burges Salmon, this requirement was removed after Ofgem realised its inclusion “could inadvertently prejudice projects that are caught within a planning system that does not have statutory timelines.”

Protection for 2027 projects

As explored briefly within a previous article, NESO confirmed that along with guaranteeing connection dates for projects contracted to come online in 2026, it would also extend this protection to projects due to connect in 2027.

With lead times for critical equipment associated with renewable energy increasingly stretched, “projects looking to energise in 2027 need to be securing this critical equipment now,” explained Colin Shear, renewable energy associate at Foot Anstey.

Although NESO will endeavour to implement its reform in a timely fashion, several industry professionals have praised the decision to extend protections to projects connecting in 2027 in the event of delays to the process.

Consultant electrical engineer Gordon Watson said that he “expect[s] delays in the connection reform process that will take us well into 2027”, so extending protections to 2027 projects was a wise decision.

The obvious winners of this increased protection are developers of projects due to connect in 2027 that already have planning and land agreements in place, which includes Edinburgh-based solar and storage developer Geocore.

Company director of Geocore, Lloyd Garvie, hailed NESO’s publication of its final documentation as a “big day for 2027 BESS projects,” pointing to the company’s 300MW/600MWh Newarthill and 40MW/120MWh Kellwood standalone storage projects proposed for Scotland that are set to benefit from this enhanced protection.

*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM Europe subscribers.