Should there be a pylon pile-on?

To ensure we get the cheap, clean, homegrown power from Britain’s renewables to the homes and businesses that need it, Britain needs to build five times more electricity grid in the next six years than it has in the past three decades. Yet pylons, power lines and substations can face vocal opposition from local campaigners who would prefer it to be built underground, offshore, or not at all.

The government is looking to mandate electricity bill discounts and community funds to compensate communities who host new transmission infrastructure. Will this help speed up its rollout or will it be dismissed by communities as a bribe? What are the costs of choosing alternative ways to transmit power? And how big a risk does local opposition pose to the government’s 2035 net zero power sector target? 

Join us to debate these questions and more at this exclusive event for CEN supporters and councillors.

Our panellists will include Richard Rout, Suffolk County councillor, and Dillon Smith, Researcher for Energy and Environment at the Centre for Policy Studies.