A major shift in how renewable energy projects move from proposal to reality is showing up in Great Britain.
In 2025, a record number of clean energy projects were approved after the government introduced new rules designed to speed up decision-making and cut through long-standing bottlenecks.
The Guardian reported that analysis from Cornwall Insight showed that planning approvals for battery storage, wind, and solar projects nearly doubled compared to the year before, with a total of 45 gigawatts of new capacity given the green light. That represents a 96% increase from 2024 and marks one of the strongest years on record for Britain's clean energy pipeline.
Much of the surge came from battery storage, which saw approvals jump to 28.6GW, nearly double the previous year. Offshore wind approvals also climbed, rising more than sevenfold. Once operational, these projects could create a more flexible, resilient power system that can store renewable energy and deliver it when people actually need it.
The increase also follows a key reform to the grid connection process. For years, renewable projects were stuck in a "first come, first served" backlog that allowed speculative or stalled projects to block others ready for development.
Under the new "first ready, first needed, first connected" approach, hundreds of so-called "zombie projects" were removed from the queue, clearing space for about $53.5 billion worth of viable clean energy developments to move forward.
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Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the reforms are part of a broader effort to break the U.K.'s reliance on fossil fuel markets. Beyond volatile pricing that costs consumers while corporate profits soar, fossil fuels like oil and coal drive climate-worsening emissions and contribute to air and water pollution that increases rates of asthma, heart disease, and premature death.
Extreme weather events linked to human-generated pollution continue to destroy homes, disrupt livelihoods, and strain local economies, making the shift to cleaner energy more urgent.
While approvals are just the first step, experts say the momentum is real.
"On paper, the U.K.'s renewables pipeline has never looked stronger," said Cornwall Insight analyst Robin Clarke, per The Guardian. As long as bureaucratic delays don't get in the way, and projects don't remain stuck in a connection backlog, the changes pave the way for progress.
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Clarke added: "The recent grid connection reforms are a significant step forward, and should help clear some of the backlog, but they won't solve everything. We need faster decisions, more investment in the grid, and real collaboration between government, regulators and industry. Without that, these record numbers risk becoming just another statistic."
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