The UK’s Transition to a Cleaner Energy System
BY DOUGLAS CHISHOLM
“Creating a sustainable and prosperous society needs many changes but electrifying our energy system is the central action that society is embracing. Technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage have a role to play, but the ability to connect producers of clean energy and consumers efficiently and effectively remains a critical capability we need”.
Clean power production technologies will continue to innovate and develop shaped by government policies and market forces. Personal and corporate consumption of power will also continue to change in ways that are complex to predict. However, I believe that having an expanded and flexible energy transmission network in place is now widely accepted as the key to enabling and incentivising producers and consumers of power to change to cleaner practices.
We can and should continue to reinforce the message that is that the power transmission and distribution network of the future is the key to a sustainable and prosperous society.
Power Transmission and Distribution Network Expansion
To describe what needs to be done as “expansion” is imperfect because it under plays the need and benefits of making the system also more flexible. A single term capturing what needs to be done is, I feel, useful in bringing together the wide and large group of people and organisations that are needed. Hopefully we will find a better term in the future.
The infrastructure sector must now deliver the expansion of the power transmission and distribution network following the strategic plans set out by DESNZ, NESO and Mission Control. Transmission network operators have made a start in delivery. For example:
National Grid’s Great Grid Upgrade has established the Great Grid Partnership to deliver 17 major upgrades in England and Wales.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks are developing the Eastern Green Links with National Grid.
Distribution network operators will have a growing volume of projects to connect customers to the network and divert their assets around major infrastructure not only from transmission network expansion but also transport schemes.
There is an emerging picture of all what needs to be done and plans are being made by network operators. However, there is a need for system level coordination and a consistent level of certainty for planning and investment decisions to be made at the pace needed. Strategic working assumptions need to be made and bought into by all those involved to move forward at the pace that is needed. This is a complex, but critical challenge which an engagement platform such as GRID-UK could and should be effective in facilitating - starting now.
Delivering Network Infrastructure Expansion
To deliver the network infrastructure expansion at the pace needed, we need to:
Gain statutory powers and societal acceptance of the need to build the new transmission and distribution lines and show how it can achieve positive ecological impacts
Improve the efficiency of the construction process and minimising its impact on communities
Optimise the delivery plans so that the supply chains (top to bottom) can build the capacity to provide the physical and human resources. This means building lasting capability and skills, with opportunities for social value legacies.
Be able to connect consumers and producers to the network when needed to avoid wasted opportunity, effort and costs.
Collaborate effectively within commercial frameworks learning lessons from the past and around the world.
Clearly digital technology and material science are moving at pace, which presents a great opportunity potentially for the network of the future that we need. However, the way we as an infrastructure industry approach planning and delivering the expansion must be able to harness and accommodate innovation. This may need changes in thinking and approach to risk. In fact, creating the power transmission and distribution network fit for the future is a challenge and opportunity, not dissimilar to the expansion of the railways and clean water systems of the 19th century.
The Contribution/Role of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
Professional bodies like the ICE play an important convening and can access a wide range of stakeholder input to represent the variation in industry opinion and experience. For example, it recently published a Green Paper entitled “Why do major projects cost so much and take so long? And what can be done about it”?
The ICE has a 97,000-strong global membership, more than 200 years of history, and enduring commitment to delivering sustainable and high-quality infrastructure. We champion engineering professionals who design, build and maintain the infrastructure that we all rely on.
Amongst other things we speak on behalf of the profession, to the public, with industry, and with policymakers, so they have trusted engineering advice. We celebrate the very best of our industry: the best people, teams, projects and research that deliver a world where infrastructure enables people and the planet to thrive.
Whereas the ICE has a had high profile in the transport (rail, road, airports, ports) sectors, it now should apply its knowledge and membership more to the challenges facing the clean energy transition. I expect that the next ICE annual State of the Nation Report due in early 2026 will include the grid network expansion in its chapter on energy transition.
Of course, the ICE is one of the many professional institutions (engineering and otherwise) that need to engage. However, civil engineers have a tradition going back to its Victorian founders as pioneers and entrepreneurs shaping the advance of how infrastructure serves society. It is time now for the civil engineering profession to get fully involved in the UK’s grid expansion. The ICE recognises that today’s infrastructure is more diverse in its use of technology and so has recently introduced a chartered Infrastructure Engineer grade.
Whereas many of our chartered members, fellows, graduates and technicians are involved in the transition to clean energy there is scope for more.
And lastly the ICE is based in the UK and has most of its membership living and working there, but it has a global brand and presence. Therefore, I also see a role for us at the ICE in harnessing global experience and in due course supporting the export of UK’s capability in expanding transmission and distribution networks to connect consumers and producers
Douglas Chisholm FICE is acting partnerships lead at the Institution of Civil Engineers and a director at Arup.