United Kingdom: Energy Law

The UK's ambitious Clean Power 2030 strategy and Great Grid Upgrade face a critical planning challenge that threatens to derail progress. As National Grid races to build new transmission lines for renewable energy, local authorities continue granting planning permissions for developments directly on proposed cable routes, forcing costly redesigns and delays.

The UK Government has announced a package of measures to reduce the influence of volatile international gas prices on electricity bills in Great Britain, including a new Wholesale Contracts for Difference scheme for existing low-carbon generators and an increase in the Electricity Generator Levy from 45% to 55%. These interventions follow the second major fossil fuel price shock this decade, triggered by conflict in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Government has conceded a judicial review challenge to its previous decision to grant planning permission for a hyperscale data centre at Iver, Buckinghamshire, with the High Court likely to quash the permission by consent.