Recommendation 40

HM Government · verbatim extract Deferred

89. National Grid Electricity Systems Operator (ESO) is developing the Holistic Network Design (HND) Follow Up Exercise. Working closely with the Crown Estate, the ESO will make recommendations for the location of grid connections of in-scope offshore wind projects in areas such as the Celtic Sea. The recommendations will inform connection agreements, including the location of clean energy infrastructure. Any infrastructure proposed will be subject to the appropriate planning process. The Government is consulting on community benefits for network infrastructure, to ensure communities hosting transmission network infrastructure can benefit from supporting the delivery of cheaper, secure and low-carbon energy for all of Great Britain. 90. The consultation proposes to introduce voluntary guidance on the appropriate levels and forms of benefits to give communities the knowledge, power and flexibility to decide what benefits they want in consultation with the project developer. 91. The Government intends to introduce a recommended level of funding for community benefits, which we believe will increase the level of funding from that seen in existing examples of community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure. 92. The Government is also discussing with The Crown Estate how best to co-ordinate with their approach to supply chain development, whether that be current Contracts for Difference (CfD) Supply Chain Plan policy, or the potential introduction of CfD non-price factors, which were the subject of a recent Call for Evidence. We are keen to ensure there is as much synergy in the approach as possible. The Welsh Affairs Committee’s recent report on Floating Offshore Wind in Wales stated that the large-scale deployment in the region could create ‘thousands of high-quality, long-term jobs’.