Earlier this month, more than 13,000 delegates, developers, investors, and supply chain professionals gathered at Glasgow’s SEC for the 25th anniversary of All-Energy, reinforcing its position as one of the UK’s leading events focused on renewable energy and the wider low-carbon economy.
Across the two-day programme, there was no shortage of ambition. Offshore wind, hydrogen, solar, battery storage, grid infrastructure and industrial decarbonisation all featured heavily in discussions, alongside a growing sense that the sector is now moving into a more delivery-focused phase of the energy transition.
That theme came through clearly in comments from Energy Minister Michael Shanks, who used his keynote address to underline the UK Government’s commitment to accelerating clean energy deployment. The upcoming Allocation Round 8 (AR8) was referenced as a key opportunity to maintain momentum and investor confidence across the renewables sector at a time when energy security and long-term resilience remain high on the political agenda.
However, alongside the optimism around deployment and investment, there was also a growing recognition across the conference that the pace of the transition is increasingly being shaped by infrastructure and delivery constraints rather than technology itself.
Across panels focused on solar, storage and wider infrastructure, discussions repeatedly returned to grid capacity and the challenge of how projects are connected and delivered at scale. In particular, the ongoing Gate 2 process continues to shape how developers and investors are approaching project pipelines, viability and delivery timescales.
At its core, Gate 2 is intended to address the long-standing congestion within the UK’s grid connection queue by prioritising projects considered both deliverable and strategically important. In principle, the reforms are a practical response to a system that has become increasingly difficult to navigate, with viable schemes often sitting behind projects unlikely to progress.
However, discussions throughout the conference also reflected the uncertainty that still surrounds how the reforms will work in practice. For developers and investors, this is not simply an administrative change. It has real implications for financing, project sequencing and long-term investment confidence.
Alongside renewable deployment itself, the conference also highlighted the growing pressure being placed on the electricity network by rising demand. Electrification, battery storage growth and the continued expansion of digital infrastructure are all increasing electricity consumption at a pace that is beginning to reshape how the grid is planned and prioritised.
Data centres in particular emerged as a recurring theme throughout the event. NESO Chief Executive Fintan Slye referenced the scale of demand growth associated with AI-driven infrastructure and the need for a more coordinated approach to how high-energy-demand developments are planned and connected to the network.
More broadly, there was a clear sense across the conference that the conversation within the sector is beginning to shift. The challenge is no longer simply about generating enough renewable electricity, but whether the wider system can transport, allocate and connect that power quickly enough to support both new generation and rapidly growing demand.
That shift matters. Grid infrastructure, transmission investment and connections policy are no longer secondary technical considerations sitting behind generation targets. They are increasingly becoming central to whether projects move forward at all, and where future investment is directed.
The implications also extend well beyond the energy sector itself. Delays or uncertainty around connections can affect local economies, supply chains, planning authorities and communities, particularly where projects with strong policy backing struggle to progress into construction and operation.
What All-Energy demonstrated more than anything is that the sector is not short of ambition, innovation or investment appetite. If anything, there is a growing sense that industry is ready to move faster. The bigger question now is whether the systems underpinning delivery – from planning and grid infrastructure to transmission investment and connections reform – are capable of keeping pace with the scale of change required.
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