Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the 2035 Future Energy Scenarios-derived capacity ranges for solar and batteries in his Department’s Clean Power Action Plan connections annex are intended to be used by Ofgem and network operators as (a) technology caps and (b) interim indications.

The 2035 capacity ranges present credible pathways to decarbonise our energy system and provide certainty to investors by ensuring a 10-year horizon for connection offers. NESO will use the ranges to underpin connection offers out to 2035. The 2035 figures are interim, to enable connection reform to proceed at pace, and are subject to updates through the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, which will be published in 2026.