National Grid UK 
The Great Grid Upgrade is the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in generations. Our infrastructure projects across England and Wales are helping to connect more renewable energy to your homes and businesses.
đ¤ Learn more on our website: https://www.nationalgrid.com/tggu
In this video, our experts answer some of the most common questions we receive about The Great Grid Upgrade:
What is The Great Grid Upgrade and why do we need it?
The Great Grid Upgrade is the largest overhaul of the UK electricity network in a generation and we need it because the renewable energy thatâs being generated now comes from a lot of different places; such as from onshore and offshore wind, solar, interconnectors and more. To facilitate this change, the UKâs electricity grid needs to become very different, with new infrastructure needed to transport the electricity from these new sources.
What does National Grid have to do with The Great Grid Upgrade?
As the electricity transmission network owner in England and Wales, we have an important role to play. It’s our networks that are a big part of The Great Grid Upgrade as theyâre effectively used to transport renewable energy to homes and businesses in the UK.
Find out more about what National Grid does: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBH5cwurXJY
What’s so âgreatâ about The Great Grid Upgrade?
In dealing with the effects of climate change, weâre on one of the greatest endeavours humankind has known. The Great Grid Upgrade is âgreatâ because it considers not just what infrastructure is needed but also looks at all the different opportunities for connecting clean energy on the journey to net zero, as well as how to do this in a way that balances the impacts on communities, the environment and consumables.
What do pylons have to do with net zero?
Electricity pylons (also known as towers) are important because they’re the most efficient way to transport energy across the UK. As a country we started building pylons in the 1950s but our grid wasn’t fully connected. By connecting various grids together we were able to transport energy over long distances in an efficient manner. They’re also five times cheaper than using subsea cables, so very cost efficient too.
Why should I have to put up with pylons to send energy to other people?
We all need energy and pylons allow us to transport energy around the country. The government has set an ambitious target of connecting 50 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, so that means that energy generated in a lot of new places needs to be transported around the country to different places. Pylons are helping us to facilitate net zero and allowing our networks to be cheaper for consumers.
If an offshore grid is cheaper, why are you insisting on more pylons?
The simple answer is that an offshore grid is not cheaper, it is in fact more expensive. Our job is to be agnostic; we compare all the different technology types on every single project. When we consider the needs of the network, we have to balance the impacts on environment, on consumer bills and also on those communities that are going to be housing it. We have to look at the trade-offs around all of those needs and impacts and then design the network in an effective way.
Isn’t all the energy from these projects going to London anyway?
There’s a common misconception that all the energy we move around the country goes to London. The capital is a big demand centre because of the size of the population, but anywhere in the UK that is growing and is seeing the increases of electrification â for example for heating and electric vehicles â needs an increase in capacity and therefore new infrastructure. So we all benefit from The Great Grid upgrade.
It’s impossible to rely solely on wind power, so what happens when the wind doesn’t blow?
The wind doesnât blow all the time, so to deal with this intermittency we have a range of energy sources available, such as nuclear and solar power. We also have several interconnectors â subsea cables that share energy between the UK and neighbouring countries â that allow us to import energy when the wind isnât blowing, and also export energy when we have a surplus of wind.
Net zero is a scam – energy companies should focus on their jobs
We all want to live in a world that uses clean energy rather than fossil fuels, so net zero is an important part of National Gridâs job.
Thereâs often confusion about what net zero actually is; net zero means that the amount of carbon emissions being removed is equal to the amount being released. From a climate change and emissions perspective, we’re balancing emissions and energy is really at the heart of that. So, transitioning to low carbon generation through The Great Grid Upgrade is fundamental to all industries in the UK.
Find out more about net zero and watch the video at https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-is-net-zero
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I must admit, It's very informative and I love the presentation style. It very engaging for me.
I like your approach but was puzzled that there were some questions on the sheets that didnât get discussed. Was that timing issue?
Surely the only way to keep the lights on if you are getting rid of fossil fuels is nuclear energy. Both wind and solar don't come close to making the same kind of energy. Not to mention the way the solar panels are made, aren't very "green" neither are the blades from the wind turbines which aren't biodegradable.
Why destroy the countryside by covering it with pylons – why using technology invented in 1928. Why not join 21st century and use an offshore power grid from North Sea wind farms to place where the power is required – London and South East (as widely used in Denmark, Germany, Holland etc)? Why lie about the cost of offshore power ring when National Grid ESO (part of National Grid) in 2020 clearly stated that OFFSHORE GRID would cost ÂŖ5 billion LESS than your proposed countryside destroying plans??? Is it because it would ensure more money for your shareholders (considering that majority of your shareholders are NOT British how can you still call yourself National Grid?).
Why didn't you mention BESS when the wind drops? These assets are being underutilised while still using gas-powered generation.
Is net zero a scam? Yes, itâs a con and Iâll tell you why.
Net zero means your factory for examples sake can emit greenhouse gases, so long as you plant trees or another project, that takes the same greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Great, but those projects will take time to build and years before it removed what you produce.
It also allows you to increase emissions, so long as you plant more trees or pay for other projects.
It should really be called offsetting because it allows you to buy another companies factory they havenât built yet and add that extension to your own factory.
Net zero will not reduce emissions one bit, to do that we need to either capture and reuse what we emit or reduce emissions at the source.
You infer that Net Zero will involve many more high voltage transmission cables and pylons. Historically there have been concerns that power lines create mental health problems, suicides and leukaemia in children. This EMF pollution question is never raised in âdiscussionsâ about Net Zero and should be properly addressed and not conveniently overlooked before we rush to Net Zero.
Net zero is a noble objective. What we have is Net Stupid though, as all we're doing is exporting our industry, knowhow and jobs abroad and in so doing increasing our carbon footprint and harmful emissions in the process. The gas grid carries 7 times as much energy as the electrical grid. To move away from gas to electric will require a massive growth in electrical grid and power generation. It's taken 100 years to build the existing electrical grid and these people think we can increase the capacity 7 fold in just a few years! That's not to mention the petrol and diesel powered transport that is also switching to electricity so how many more times capacity will it need for that?
Who can tell me what we're to make plastic from without oil or what we'll use instead of plastic?
Who can tell me what we'll use instead of tarmac to make our roads with?
What will we use in place of oil to make tyres with?
What will we power ships with if not oil to transport back what we used to make here?
How will our military operate with electric tanks, trucks, aircraft and ships?
What we're currently embarking on is an act of self harm, and far from saving the planet we're making the situation worse. There is no joined up thinking here and no debate, you will comply or else! We need to do something as we're using non-renewal recourses that will run out at some point, so we need to plan for that, just not this madness!
The reason it is considered by some to be a scam is because the UK's carbon emissions are insignificant compared to China etc who continue to increase emissions. The idea is that we are making ourselves poorer by spending our money on these projects to no effect and therefore no reason.