Grid first. Generation second. Otherwise it’s not energy security — it’s expensive theatre.

Offshore wind may be a British success story, but the uncomfortable truth is this:

we have built generation faster than we have built the grid to carry it.

The UK may be second only to China in offshore wind, with more than 16GW installed, and the supply-chain ambition is real. But turbines at sea do not equal usable, affordable power at home unless the transmission network, substations, storage, system balancing and grid connections are built first. �
Business Growth Service

NESO’s own 2025 Balancing Costs Report confirms the problem:

wind curtailment is now a major driver of balancing costs, because large volumes of wind are connected in constrained parts of the network. In 2024/25, curtailed wind rose to 13% of hypothetical wind output.

In plain English: we are paying to turn wind off, then paying again to replace it elsewhere. �
National Energy System Operator (NESO)

So yes, celebrate the supply chain. Celebrate British ports, welders, engineers and manufacturers. But don’t pretend this is a complete energy strategy while the grid is still playing catch-up.

Grid first. Generation second. Otherwise it’s not energy security , it’s expensive theatre.