The Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) is Great Britain’s first national plan for where, how much and roughly when new energy infrastructure should be built. It covers electricity and hydrogen generation and storage for the period from 2030 to 2050. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is preparing it for the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, which jointly commissioned it in October 2024.
What it does
Until now, new wind farms, solar farms and storage projects have mostly been built where developers chose, with the grid expanding afterwards. The SSEP aims to reverse that: it sets out a cost-optimised pathway showing the mix of technologies and the broad zones where they should go, taking account of other uses of land and sea. It maps potential zones, not individual projects.
The plan feeds two other NESO plans:
| Plan | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) | Designs the transmission network needed over the next 25 years; first publication now due by 15 December 2028 |
| Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) | Plan energy needs at regional and local level |
NESO set out a range of pathway options, and the UK Energy Secretary will choose the government’s preferred pathway, with the Scottish and Welsh governments in a formal advisory role. A draft plan, with its environmental report, is due to go out to public consultation in early 2027.
Revised deadline
The original commission expected the first plan in 2026, and NESO’s licence set a deadline of 31 December 2026. After a timeline revision announced in December 2025, a letter from the Minister for Energy published on 23 October 2026 directs NESO to submit the first SSEP to the Secretary of State by 31 December 2027. The direction applies to the first plan only.
For developers and communities, the SSEP matters because grid connection decisions and network investment are expected to follow it, so it will shape which areas see new generation and pylons.
Read more: Ofgem gives NESO another month to issue Gate 2 grid connection offers.