Pylons: the new net-zero battleground

Britain "is on the cusp of a net zero revolution," said Politico. "Just not the one many might assume." 

With the government aiming for net zero electricity generation by 2035, a "massive expansion" of the electricity transmission system across the country will be needed. Although experts are "hesitant to provide an exact figure for this expansion", it will "necessitate more pylons", said the news site. "Lots more pylons."

The National Grid has estimated that over the next seven years, five times as many transmission lines – via either overhead pylons or underground cables – will need to be built as were in the past three decades. The fear is that the grid upgrades are "about to run up against planning battles and well-organised not-in-my-back-yard (NIMBY) campaigns", said Politico. "Get ready for the politics of pylons."

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New infrastructure 'hard to miss'

The National Grid this week said that Britain's power network will need £60 billion of investment in order to hit the government's decarbonisation target. The aim is to add up to 86 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind to the grid by 2035, "which on a windy day is enough to meet peak demand", said The Times. But thousands of miles of new cabling will be needed to send electricity from the sea to homes and businesses. 

Some of the infrastructure needed "will be hard to miss", said Nils Prately in The Guardian. In places where infrastructure plans are under way, local tensions are already rising. Protests are "up and running" over a proposed 114-mile transmission line from Norwich to Tilbury, to get power from wind farms in the North Sea to users in the southeast of England, which will mainly consist of overhead pylon lines running through the East Anglian countryside. 

The campaign has "taken its plight all the way to the throne", said Suffolk News. Some activists have written to the King asking him to support their calls for alternatives to National Grid's development plans in the area.

'Problem of pylons' yet to be solved

It's unfair to characterise those concerned about pylons as simply "nimbys", said Sarah Davies, a senior analyst for social innovation charity Nesta. 

Campaigners have cited concerns that pylons and other electrical infrastructure "disrupt wildlife in rural ecosystems due to loss of habitats, noise pollution and collision risks with birds and insects". Other commentators have questioned "whether the compromise of rural land to achieve a 'green' future is worthwhile". 

But between Labour's proposals to reform planning rules for nationally significant infrastructure, and the Conservative government's plan to compensate those living near pylons, "the most likely future approach is to plough on", said Davies. We are likely to see "continued attempts to remove barriers to expanding high-voltage transmission networks, including efforts to increase public acceptance through consultation and engagement, and improved design". 

Anti-pylon rhetoric has existed since they were first introduced in 1928, she said. And nearly a century after the creation of the National Grid, it is clear the problem of pylons still "hasn't been solved".