Anger over renewable energy connection delays

Wokingham Borough Council’s proposals for new solar farms have been put at risk following an announcement by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) that connections to the National Grid could be delayed until 2037. 

This represents an 11-year delay on the agreement the council signed with SSEN last year, which gave a network connection date of 2026 at the latest for their first solar farm on land between Barkham and Finchampstead. 

The new solar farms form a core part of the council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP), producing enough clean renewable energy to power thousands of homes, and representing a significant annual saving in carbon emissions. 

The proposals were also expected to generate millions of pounds in income for the council which would have been used to fund essential services for residents living across the borough. 

'Need to understand the impact of their decisions'

Susan Parsonage, Chief Executive at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “We were incredibly frustrated and angry to receive the notification of delays from SSEN.

“We have been working closely with them on our proposals before and since entering into a contractual agreement and at no point did SSEN express any concerns over capacity or timings. To suddenly announce a delay of this length is simply unacceptable. 

“No real explanation has been given, other than that National Grid need to complete some works which will apparently take more than 11 years.

“I’ve written to the Chief Executive Officers of both companies to express our concerns and seek a resolution and am also contacting other local authorities and bodies to discuss the situation and see what more can be done.

"We will also be contacting the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero with our concerns. 

"Businesses like SSEN and National Grid need to understand the impact of decisions like this and work with us on resolving this issue as quickly and efficiently as possible.

"Not only does this put our own climate emergency commitments at risk, but it also leaves us with a significant shortfall in our expected income after the new solar farm started feeding energy into the grid. A gap which will have to be filled with further savings or a reduction in the critical services our residents receive.”

Impacting councils across the country

The council believes they are not alone in this situation and that the notice of delays has been sent to renewable energy projects across the country.

Installation of the council’s first solar farm at Barkham was due to start on site later this year.

Work has currently been paused whilst the council takes legal advice regarding its contractual arrangements and discusses the situation further with SSEN and the National Grid to seek a resolution to the delay.