Conservative MPs are to step up their opposition to onshore power lines after a government-commissioned report said local residents should receive compensation if high-voltage pylons are built near their homes.
The report by Nick Winser found that the UK’s energy grid is not ready for a switch to clean power by 2035 because of planning constraints, and recommended streamlining the system to build more electricity transmission projects. High Voltage Compensation Cabinet
But a group of Tory MPs with seats in Essex and East Anglia who are opposed to a 112-mile “expressway” of pylons planned by the National Grid, running from Norwich to Tilbury, say the report shows how the Government should move networks offshore to ready the UK for net zero.
A separate review, due later this year, into the East Anglia network is examining the feasibility of offshore routes to avoid local opposition and speed up transformation of the country’s electricity infrastructure.
Senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, who is a member of the East of England group, the Offshore Electricity Grid Taskforce (OffSET), said the Winser report vindicated their position.
Mr Winser, a former National Grid chief executive, said the country risked falling short of its net zero targets if it goes ahead with wind farms and nuclear sites without ensuring there are enough cables to take the new electricity to homes and businesses.
He recommended giving lump sum payments to local residents to avoid protests against power lines, which take between 12 and 14 years to install, and said the Government should also consider offshore power cables.
He said: “The implications of being able to build wind generation faster than the associated connections to customers will be serious – very high congestion costs for customers and clean, cheap domestic energy generation standing idle, potentially for years.
“I believe that we must… reduce the overall timescale to seven years. I am confident that this is achievable as long as we streamline the process as proposed in the report and take a transparent, respectful and efficient approach when engaging with people and communities about the impact.”
Grant Shapps, Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, welcomed Mr Winser’s report.
Sir Bernard told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “What Nick Winser’s report does is a complete vindication of our campaign. He says there’s little political or engineering contracts being established or at system level, that policy statements are all out of date.”
The current plan by National Grid for the 112-mile line of pylons would mean “endless offshore to onshore connections, creating a real sort of mess and patchwork instead of a strategic approach. And this is what Nick Winser says, we should have a strategic approach”.
Former Cabinet minister Matt Hancock claimed voters will punish Rishi Sunak at the ballot box if he waters down the UK’s net zero agenda.
The Prime Minister has provoked criticism from some of his own MPs and environmental campaigners by giving the go-ahead for an expansion of oil and gas extraction in the North Sea, as well as signalling other green measures could be under review.
But in an article for Politico, Mr Hancock said: “As the impact of climate change becomes more apparent, and the competition for green investment intensifies, it is clear that voters will not forgive politicians who slow down. They will reward those who double down and deliver the fair, affordable and ambitious environmental action we need to see.
“Thus, we must hold our nerve to reach net zero by 2050 and end the United Kingdom’s contribution to climate change. It is the challenge and economic opportunity of the century, and successive Conservative governments have developed plans and policies to answer it and grasp the benefits.
“With the world enduring the hottest days in recorded history, watching glaciers melt and feeling scorching temperatures, there’s very little point in pretending it’s not all happening.
“Nor is it sensible to proclaim that global warming is a good thing to reduce winter deaths from cold weather. Insulating homes to keep people warm is the answer to that challenge — not letting the planet fry.”
Mr Hancock said polling showed “overwhelmingly support” for policies to tackle climate change, adding: “If the Conservative government is seen to renege on its pledges, it’ll lose voters’ trust.”
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