Plans were laid out by energy and climate change minister, David Kidney,and were called Connect and Manage.

It aims to clear the way for renewable energy projects such as wind farms to connect to the grid in time to meet the 2020 renewable energy targets.

Mr Kidney said: “Access to the electricity grid has been one of the key barriers to the generation of renewable energy in this country.

“There is currently around 78 gigawatts of prospective new generation capacity – some 160 projects – that are waiting to be connected to the grid, including over 19 gigawatts from renewable sources.

“The new rules will help these projects get hooked up to the grid as soon as they are ready – helping in the shift to low carbon, secure energy supplies.”

According to the government Connect and Manage will allow new generators to connect to the electricity network and start generating as soon as their local connection has been built.

The National Grid will then manage the increased constraints on the network as more generation is connected before the completion of wider reinforcement work.

Luke Walsh

Action inspires action. Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie

Subscribe