An electricity distribution network built for another age and a previous century should not be allowed to be a drag on our energy future

Hardly surprising, given that the electricity grid was designed to export electricity not import it, but the report in today’s Grauniad highlights the problem that grid capacity presents to localised renewable generation.

It is a problem which affects large scale solar schemes in the main, and we aren’t sure how many of these are likely to be planned now that the subsidies paid have been pared back. There will be cases however where restricted grid capacity may reduce the potential for large rooftop systems on factories and warehouses with large electricity demand. If all the electricity produced by such schemes is used within the building on which they are installed then its clearly madness to allow the DNOs to block them on the grounds of insufficient grid capacity. As FiT payments are only available to systems hooked up to the grid, perhaps it’s time to allow those payments to be made to firms who send their excess energy to their own battery storage instead.  

An electricity distribution network built for another age and a previous century should not be allowed to be a drag on our energy future.

You can read the article here.