Renewable energy project approvals hit record high in GB in 2025

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🗞️ Driving the news: Great Britain approved a record wave of renewable energy projects in 2025, led by a surge in battery storage and offshore wind, as planning consents nearly doubled year on year

🔭 The context: Approvals are accelerating — delivery is lagging
• Planning approval was granted for 45 GW of new battery, wind, and solar capacity in 2025 — up 96% from 2024
• Battery storage drove the boom, with approvals rising to 28.6 GW, nearly double last year’s level
• Offshore wind approvals jumped more than sevenfold, from 1.3 GW to 9.9 GW
• According to Cornwall Insight, approvals for battery, wind, and solar have increased over 400% in five years

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Momentum is real — but fragile
• The scale of approvals signals strong progress toward a near-zero-carbon power system by 2030
• Battery storage is critical for balancing intermittent renewables and improving energy security
• However, long construction timelines and grid connection bottlenecks risk delaying real emissions cuts
• Grid infrastructure was not designed for high volumes of variable generation and storage

⏭️ What’s next: From paper wins to power on the grid
• The government has begun clearing “zombie projects” from grid queues, shifting to a “first ready, first connected” system
• Britain’s system operator recently removed hundreds of stalled projects to unlock around £40bn in viable schemes
• Analysts warn that faster planning decisions, grid investment, and coordination are essential to convert approvals into electricity

💬 One quote: “Approvals don’t generate electricity, and we urgently need to move from ambition to actual delivery,” said Robin Clarke, senior analyst at Cornwall Insight

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