Battery Storage Drives UK Energy Project Surge

In 2025, Great Britain experienced a record-breaking year for renewable energy project approvals, with planning consents almost doubling compared to the previous year. The total energy capacity of new battery, wind, and solar projects receiving approval reached 45GW, a substantial 96% increase from 2024. This surge was primarily fueled by a significant rise in applications for new battery storage facilities, which nearly doubled to 28.6GW, and a remarkable sevenfold increase in offshore wind developments, climbing to 9.9GW.

While the volume of approved projects signals strong momentum in the UK's energy transition, experts caution that approvals alone do not generate electricity. A considerable amount of renewable capacity is reportedly stuck in queues or awaiting crucial grid upgrades. These grid bottlenecks are identified as one of the most significant risks to realizing the potential of these newly approved projects and ensuring they contribute to the nation's power supply.

Efforts are underway to address these challenges, including reforms to the grid connection queue aimed at removing inactive projects and prioritizing those ready for connection. Furthermore, hundreds of electricity generation projects were recently removed from a backlog to facilitate "shovel-ready" schemes. These measures, alongside potential developer urgency before new grid connection rules, are intended to accelerate the UK's renewable energy buildout towards its 2030 zero-carbon power system goal.