If there isn’t enough power for the new homes, where’s the power for all the soon-to-be mandatory electric vehicles supposed to come from? Net zero policy by climate obsessives is busy degrading the entire power grid to an increasingly part-time system. This is just one of the knock-on effects.
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Our inadequate electricity network is stopping the building of thousands of new homes. And the necessary move to low-carbon heating and cars is only increasing demand, says The Guardian.
Oxford has a severe housing problem. With house prices 12 times the average salary, it has become one of the least affordable cities in the country. Its council house waiting list has grown to more than 3,000 households, with many having to live in temporary accommodation.
An obvious solution is to build more homes, but those trying to do this face a big barrier: electricity.
“When I talk to developers or potential developers, one of the first questions they now ask me is about grid capacity,” says Susan Brown, leader of Oxford city council.
With housing developments competing for power against energy-hungry tech companies and the city’s increasingly electrified transport network, connection prospects are a matter of concern for housebuilders.
“The problem [for developers] is securing sufficient energy, and the time it takes to connect to the grid,” Brown says.
The council estimates that 26,000 new homes will be needed in and around the city by 2040, but it fears any building plans could be delayed by capacity constraints. In the nearby market town of Bicester, this has already happened.
“The latest expansion in Bicester was supposed to see an additional 7,000 homes and a large commercial zone built, but they’ve been put on pause because grid reinforcements are needed to get them further,” says Brown, who is also a vice-chair of the District Councils’ Network, a cross-party group of 169 district and unitary councils in England. “I don’t think Oxfordshire is unique at all. I know it is becoming quite a big issue across the country.”
This inability to build enough homes is not a new problem. For the past decade, sluggish building rates have meant the government’s target of 300,000 homes a year has been repeatedly missed, while the housing crisis has worsened.
Funding and planning issues are routinely blamed for the country’s supply issues; a lack of electricity supply has rarely been given as a reason why homes are not built – until recently.
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Last year, Reading borough council raised concerns that its net zero housing ambitions could be curtailed because of SSEN restrictions on new connections. On a planned development of more than 220 homes with heat pumps, nearly two-thirds converted back to gas after capacity concerns were raised.
“We had a developer that was willing to fit air source heat pumps, fit electric car chargers, but couldn’t get the capacity, and had to come back to planning so it could fit gas boilers,” says Micky Leng, the council’s planning lead. “This is a massive issue that has the potential to put the country’s race to net zero at risk.”
Full article here.
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Image: Electricity transmission [credit: green lantern electric]
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
“If there isn’t enough power for the new homes” ….. …. Oh YES THERE IS …. IF you ONLY use 20% of your energy consumption as electric ( don’t we all ? ) (sarc) Spread the word ! Paul B. says it all.
What is the gas boiler ban and what could it mean for your home?
The gas boiler ban has been extended 10 years but the 2025 deadline will still be in place for new homes. Here’s how it could affect the boiler in your home. [bold added]
https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/news/gas-boiler-ban
Maybe people in the UK could do what those of us in rural France do and use bottle gas for cooking and ‘on demand’ water heating. Also the people living in the country side could revert to wood pellet fires for house heating after all it is supposed to be green according to one electric generator company.
W8 a minute, think about it: ” people in the UK could do what those of us in rural France do” ….. but we too have rural areas, and in Scotland of all places ( ! ), The Stupit Nitwit Plonker Gov. doesn’t want us to burn wood: Even in their Conservation Areas, people are throwing OUT their woodpellet burners ( I picked one up to play with – but the small scale purchase of pellets is extortionate akin to your idea of bottle gas ) As rural as Scotland is, we even now have piped Gas – since the 90’s – imagine that: Digging up large swathes of the countryside to lay PLASTIC pipes ( and now we want to do it again to bury ELECTRIC Cables ( 3 phases at a time )
As Heron says: Why are we wanting to build so many Power transmission liens “Linking” empty fishponds ie connecting so many useless windmills.
Where’s the wind today ? HALF a GW, but they told us there were already so many windmills around to power so many Million homes .... I’m waiting for the kettle to boil ( YORK-Shire Tea with piss warm water ? ) But ha ha ha it means I have no TV ( power) to watch the Propaganda Show around Breakfast time. But What-IF the internet don’t work, and my Flattery Car’s Energy is in a low state. No Church today then, ( Sunday) Mr Shanks can’t be contacted either.
Scathing summary of battery storage fantasies.
https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2024-4-27-a-shockingly-inept-report-on-battery-storage-of-energy-from-the-iea
Guardian: Our inadequate electricity network
It became inadequate with so-called climate policies like net zero, supported heavily by the Guardian.