GB Renewable Energy Project Approvals Soar to Record 45 GW in 2025
In 2025, Great Britain saw a record surge in renewable energy project approvals, reaching a total capacity of 45 GW, which is 96% higher than the approvals recorded in 2024. The dominant sector within these approvals was battery storage, which accounted for 28.6 GW, nearly doubling from 14.9 GW in the previous year. Offshore wind projects also experienced significant growth, with approvals reaching 9.9 GW, a sevenfold increase from 1.3 GW in 2024.
These figures, provided by Cornwall Insight, highlight a growing shift towards clean and homegrown energy sources intended to reduce fossil fuel market volatility, a point emphasized by energy secretary Ed Miliband. However, it is important to note that approvals do not directly translate into immediate electricity generation. Challenges such as grid bottlenecks and connection delays threaten the timely delivery of planned projects.
To address these issues, reforms are underway to eliminate "zombie projects" and implement a "first ready, first needed, first connected" system aimed at easing grid congestion. The energy system operator has paused or halted hundreds of projects to manage a backlog, while prioritizing approximately £40 billion worth of schemes to help achieve a near-zero-carbon grid by 2030.
Despite strong approval numbers, the pace of project startups lags due to long construction timelines and grid connection delays, with many projects still queued. Investment is needed in grid expansion, transmission upgrades, and smart technologies to accommodate the increasing volumes of intermittent generation and storage capacity. Ongoing policy and planning uncertainties, including upcoming local elections and stricter grid-connection rules, may also impact project delivery moving forward.
