Britain has wasted £696m this year powering down wind farms due to insufficient grid capacity, with network constraints costing consumers £250m in the first two months of 2025 alone. This infrastructure failure is actively undermining our renewable energy transition.
The Grid Constraint Problem
Octopus Energy’s tracking tool displayed on their home page is actively quantifying what the renewable energy sector has known for years: our grid infrastructure cannot handle modern distributed generation. Wind turbines generate clean electricity but cannot transport it where needed due to capacity constraints.
International Interconnects vs Local Grid Failures
Known as the super grid, we have interconnects to Europe and discuss moving power between Morocco and the UK yet cannot efficiently connect domestic renewable systems to our own grid. We’re designing intercontinental energy trading while Scottish wind farms sit idle, disconnected from English demand centers. And it’s not limited to wind. There are many large-scale solar PV project though the UK awaiting grid upgrades not due to be ready before well into the 2030s.
International Grid Interconnections
Here are the links both in place and planned which bring power to and from the UK:
| Interconnect Name | Capacity (MW) | Connected Country | Status |
| IFA (Interconnexion France-Angleterre) | 2,000 | France | Operational |
| IFA2 | 1,000 | France | Operational (2021) |
| BritNed | 1,000 | Netherlands | Operational |
| Nemo Link | 1,000 | Belgium | Operational (2019) |
| North Sea Link | 1,400 | Norway | Operational (2021) |
| Moyle Interconnector | 500 | Northern Ireland – Scotland | Operational |
| East-West Interconnector | 500 | Ireland | Operational |
| ElecLink | 1,000 | France (via Channel Tunnel) | Operational (2022) |
| Greenlink | 500 | Ireland | Planned |
| FAB Link | 1,400 | France (via Alderney and UK) | Pre planning |
| NeuConnect | 1,400 | Germany | Under Construction (Expected 2028) |
| LionLink | 1,800–2,000 | Netherlands | Planned (by 2032) |
Why GB Energy Should Prioritise Grid Infrastructure
For GB Energy, addressing grid constraints delivers immediate, quantifiable returns. Fixing grid capacity provides instant carbon savings and cost reductions in reducing what we pay wind farms to shut down and gas plants to ramp up simultaneously.
Feed-in Tariff Success: A Proven Model
Through our work over the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) years at SJ1 Renewables, we saw how targeted policy drives grid transformation. The FiT helped to pay for the grid modifications required to transform electricity systems from centralised to distributed generation.
Practical Framework for Grid Modernisation
GB Energy could establish frameworks targeting constraint areas with:
- Enhanced rates for projects incorporating grid-strengthening measures
- Streamlined planning for grid infrastructure in constraint areas
- Support for local energy storage managing excess renewable generation
- Incentivising local generators to sell directly to local users
- Encouraging large consumers to locate to renewable energy dense areas
GB Energy call to action
The technology, generation capacity, and demand exist. We need grid infrastructure connecting supply with demand efficiently. GB Energy should apply the lesson leant during the FiT period to address grid constraints by supporting embedded renewable generators to fund infrastructure upgrades.
Every day we delay costs consumers millions while wasting renewable resources. For GB Energy, freeing up grid constraints should be the immediate priority.