House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Electricity Grid Capacity

Tuesday 15 July 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

Calum Miller asked about increasing electricity grid capacity for solar panel installations in his constituency, highlighting permit issues for generating and exporting electricity.
Bill Esterson inquired about the challenges of obtaining planning consent and grid connections for increasing electricity grid capacity, citing inconsistencies between grid connection requirements and planning consents.
The Minister responded that processes need to be aligned and aims to integrate strategic spatial energy plans and holistic network design to ensure coherent planning.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Calum Miller Lib Dem Bicester and Woodstock

Energy Environment

Context

Local plans in Bicester and Woodstock anticipate significant new employment sites for job creation and economic growth. Tritax Big Box has expressed interest in installing solar panels on 100% of usable roof areas but faces difficulties getting a permit to generate electricity or consent to export to the grid, currently expecting only to install panels on 25%.

Question

What steps are being taken to increase electricity grid capacity? In my constituency, Tritax Big Box wants to put solar panels on 100% of usable roof areas for new buildings but expects to cover only 25%. They cannot get a permit to generate or export electricity. How can we turn this into a win-win opportunity?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)

Our ambition is to see solar panels on as many rooftops across the country as possible, making it a win-win. I am happy to discuss this with the hon. Gentleman if he writes to me with specifics. We are also looking at reforming processes to ensure more power can be generated and exported.

Partly answered

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Q2 Bill Esterson Lab Sefton Central

Energy

Context

Select Committee report highlighted inconsistency in guidance and energy plans over which comes first—the grid connection or the planning consent. This inconsistency hinders increasing electricity generation and grid capacity.

Question

The challenges of increasing electricity grid capacity include getting planning consent and grid connections. The Select Committee's recent report pointed out inconsistencies between grid connection requirements and planning consents, leading to delays. Will the Minister address this inconsistency?