Strategic spatial energy plan coming in Britain
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The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has been commissioned by the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments to develop a national strategic spatial energy plan (SSEP).
The plan, a first for Britain, is proposed to take a holistic approach to national planning for electricity and hydrogen in order to identify the optimal locations for these assets.
As such, it should provide the high-level blueprint from which the future of the energy system for the whole of Great Britain can be planned.
“We are delighted to receive this formal commission to develop this plan and bring together our expertise and that of our partners to develop this critical blueprint for Great Britain’s energy system of the future,” commented Kayte O’Neill, NESO chief operating officer.
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“By setting out pathway options, engaging across government, the regulator, wider industry, interested parties and with communities as well as exploring the needs at a more zonal and regional level we can then identify where and what type of electricity and storage technologies we need to meet our future demand and decarbonisation ambitions.”
The SSEP will not focus on specific projects, rather leaving these to the energy market to determine, but instead on the locations, quantities and types of energy infrastructure including electricity, hydrogen generation and storage required to meet future energy demand to deliver on the energy transition.
This will be modelled across a range of plausible futures, taking into account public views, environmental considerations and cross-sectoral demands on land and sea. Future iterations could also include other energy vectors.
Economic, environmental, and technical engineering design input, combined with engagement with societal, expert and political stakeholders is planned to help deliver this outcome.
NESO as its first task will develop and consult on the methodology for the SSEP, which will set out how the plan will be produced.
The SSEP will be interlinked with other NESO plans including a centralised strategic network plan and NESO intends to work on it closely with other bodies including The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland.
