Ofgem proposed a new commitment fee on 17 September for battery projects seeking a place on Britain's electricity grid, as around 90GW of battery capacity is operating or in the reformed connections queue against roughly 29GW of projected need by 2035. Separately, the Planning Inspectorate granted development consent for the Steeple Renewables Project, comprising 450MW of solar and 150MW of BESS in Nottinghamshire.
Queue Position as a Cheap Option
Under the old connections system, a place in the queue was relatively cheap to hold. Developers could apply for capacity without having secured land rights or planning permission, the London Review article states. Holding capacity therefore became an attractive, low-risk speculative option even when the probability of building the project remained highly uncertain. By February 2025, the grid connection queue had exceeded 750GW, and new applicants faced an average wait of almost six years to connect.
Ofgem's Battery Commitment Fee
On 17 September, Ofgem proposed a new commitment fee for battery projects seeking a place on Britain's electricity grid. It follows a commitment fee for large data centres and the earlier Progression Commitment Fee for projects that have passed the Gate 2 readiness requirements. Their designs differ, but the principle is similar: developers must demonstrate readiness and, increasingly, put money at risk to retain access to the queue.
The London Review reports that around 90GW of battery capacity is either operating or in the reformed connections queue, compared with roughly 29GW of projected need by 2035. Even after reform, half of the battery projects in the queue had posted less than £800 per MW in securities. The article says Ofgem is trying to change the incentive so that queue positions are not held cheaply without evidence of progress.
Contracted Demand and Queue Signals
The scale of the queue illustrates the challenge. Between November 2024 and June 2025, total contracted demand in the connections queue rose from 41GW to 125GW, according to the London Review. A large volume of uncertain projects makes the queue a less informative signal of where network capacity will actually be needed. If network planners cannot easily distinguish committed projects from those that may later disappear, investment decisions have to be made with less certainty of future demand.
Steeple Renewables Consent
The Planning Inspectorate announced on 9 October 2026 that the Steeple Renewables Project had been granted development consent by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The application covers approximately 450MW of solar generation and approximately 150MW of BESS in Nottinghamshire. It was submitted on 14 May 2025 and accepted for examination on 11 June 2025.
Recommendations were made to the Secretary of State on 10 July 2026. The project was the 115th energy application out of 183 examined to date and was completed within the statutory timescale laid down in the Planning Act 2008. The Planning Inspectorate said local people, the local authority and other interested parties were able to participate in this six-month examination.
Key Takeaways
Ofgem proposed a new commitment fee on 17 September for battery projects seeking a place on Britain's electricity grid.
Around 90GW of battery capacity is operating or in the reformed connections queue, against roughly 29GW of projected need by 2035.
By February 2025, the grid connection queue had exceeded 750GW, with new applicants facing an average wait of almost six years.
The Steeple Renewables Project was granted development consent on 9 October 2026 for approximately 450MW of solar and 150MW of BESS in Nottinghamshire.
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