A £4.7 billion investment in the
electricity transmission networks could prepare them to accommodate up to 45 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity generation, the majority of which would be renewable, according to the Electricity Network Strategy Group (ENSG).
In a new report it calls for the high level of investment in order to help the UK meet its renewable energy targets.
The organisation, part of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, suggested laying cables along the UK's east and west coasts and investing in developing the infrastructure of areas in anticipation of project being built.
Of the 45GW added capacity that the investment would allow the grid to handle, the report claimed 34GW could come from offshore and onshore wind generation.
The scenario it based its figures on was one in which wind power contributed 29.1 per cent to the electricity fuel mix, second only to natural gas, which would provide 34.1 per cent and ahead of carbon-intensive coal with 19.8 per cent.
We have 21 offshore and onshore wind power projects and are helping to develop the 1GW London Array, which could have up to 271 wind turbines.
