(Bloomberg) -- The UK is running out of time to secure the power cables it needs to reach its goal for a decarbonized power grid by the end of the decade.
“They need to speed up,” according to Christopher Guerin, chief executive officer of Nexans SA, which is one of the few manufacturers of subsea power cables used for offshore wind farms and connections between Britain and Europe.
“There is a race for capacity slots,” Guerin said in an interview. “It’s starting to be a bit stretched, but it’s still possible.”
To reach the government’s goal, the country would need to increase its interconnector capacity by some 50%, according to modeling produced by the UK’s grid operator. That doesn’t leave much time to get in orders for critical equipment.
The tight time-line for procuring cables is emblematic of the scale of the challenge the UK faces if wants to come even close to its goal of a clean power grid by 2030. While it’s theoretically possible, actually reaching that target will require scaling up supply chains and workforces at an unprecedented pace.
READ: A 600% Gain Illustrates Cable Makers’ Green Energy Windfall
Britain’s electricity regulator Ofgem recently approved about 5 gigawatts of new connections to continental Europe. But that approval is only the first step in the process to get the projects built.
Already, Nexans and its competitors have tremendous demand for the limited supply of specialized cables they produce. Guerin said his company sees projects worth €20 billion euros ($21.1 billion) that could keep its factories occupied beyond 2030. So potential customers need to reserve space early if they want to buy equipment before the end of the decade.
The UK already has a growing number of links to Europe, with cables to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and to the Nordic region. Power flows to the market that commands the higher price and currently, that means electricity mostly goes from Europe to Britain. But the UK aims to flip that trend and become a net power exporter as it rapidly expands its fleet of offshore wind farms.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.