National Grid: Scotland
(asked on 18th March 2024) - View Source
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the amount of additional power generated in (a) Scotland and (b) Scottish waters that will be transferred to England under the transitional centralised strategic network plan.
The Electricity System Operator (ESO) published their report ‘Beyond 2030: a national blueprint for a decarbonised electricity system’ this week. Ministers have made no such estimate since its publication.
The report notes that Scotland has nearly 15 GW of operational renewable capacity and the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round awarded a total capacity of approximately 28GW. In 2022, peak winter demand in Scotland was around 5 GW. The Electricity System Operator (ESO) has assumed a significant increase in demand of 10 GW by 2035. However, there will remain a surplus of generation in Scotland which will need to be transmitted to centres of demand across Great Britain. More detail is included in the ESO’s report.