Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Lord Offord of Garvel Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 25th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Offord of Garvel (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to speak to Part 1 of the Bill and specifically to Chapter 2, which relates to electricity infrastructure. The Bill introduces many critical reforms to our planning and grid connection systems, and, if implemented effectively, could help restore a degree of realism and responsiveness to our infrastructure development.

I welcome the shift from a first come, first served model to a first ready, first connected model for grid connections. To quote my noble friend Lord Young of Cookham, this should “in theory” allow viable shovel-ready projects to proceed without unnecessary delays. However, if we are to prioritise projects, we must be strategic. Not all megawatts are equal. A kilowatt hour from a nuclear plant delivered consistently is not the same as one from a wind turbine that might not be turning tomorrow. Immediately dispatchable, energy-dense sources such as nuclear and gas must be prioritised for grid access. Those technologies provide essential baseload power and enhanced grid stability. Crucially, they offer inertia—that is, resistance to frequency fluctuations—which is something that renewables such as wind and solar cannot provide. Frequency fluctuations can cause blackouts, as we saw first-hand only too recently in Spain.

We must be cautious about fast-tracking a growing queue of small-scale, intermittent renewable projects that offer low-capacity factors and often require costly network upgrades. My argument is not against renewables but against imbalance. Yes, a truly resilient grid must be cleaner, but also smarter, stronger and more stable. We should connect the right projects in the right order, in the national interest, not just to tick boxes for arbitrary 2030 targets.

Broadly, we will support efforts to streamline the planning process for nationally significant infrastructure projects. They are critical for our energy security and economic competitiveness. Although I welcome the Bill’s legal framework for a cap and floor scheme to support long-duration energy storage, I also share my noble friend Lord Lilley’s caution about pre-empting new technologies before they are fully proven. That said, it is vital that we enable the deployment of technologies that balance supply and demand, reinforce resilience and help us move towards a cleaner energy system.

However, I must express concerns about the underlying motivation driving those projects, namely the Government’s so-called clean power by 2030 target. Although I have done so in this House many times before, I hope noble Lords will indulge me once again: it is important to lay bare the reality of the associated cost of this target. Aurora Energy Research has priced the cost of grid upgrades at £116 billion over the next 10 years. That amounts to an additional £400 per annum per household. That is before factoring in the OBR’s estimate of £96 billion more in green levies and subsidies over the next five years—an additional £600 per annum per household.

Let us be clear: the 2030 target is not just unrealistic, it is ideological. It is being pursued not with a careful eye on affordability, nor with a clear plan for technology neutrality or energy resilience, but rather to satisfy a political agenda, not a national one.

We must prioritise a balanced energy mix that combines innovation with reliability, clean energy with cost effectiveness, and growth with environmental stewardship. Ideology must not override practicality. The Government owe the British people a secure, affordable and sustainable energy future, delivered fairly and in a realistic timeframe.

I trust that the Minister has heard these concerns. I look forward to engaging further in later stages of the Bill and I hope for constructive dialogue in Committee.