SSEN Transmission is leading a cross-industry push to speed up the planning and delivery of new electricity transmission infrastructure, supported by fresh funding from Ofgem.

The Routing and Planning through Interoperable Data (RAPID) initiative aims to cut the route planning and development timeline for new transmission projects from around five years to two, helping the UK connect more home-grown clean energy and strengthen energy security.

RAPID will overhaul how engineering, planning, consenting and land information is structured, shared and used across the sector, creating a more consistent, interoperable approach.

Building on a successful Discovery phase that explored standardisation, digital tools, automation and artificial intelligence, the project has secured more than £450,000 from Ofgem's Strategic Innovation Fund to advance into development and testing.

The collaboration brings together SSEN Transmission, National Grid Electricity Transmission, SP Energy Networks Transmission, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and Arup to address common bottlenecks in delivering grid infrastructure.

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Over a six-month Alpha phase, partners will prototype a shared digital framework linking engineering, planning, consenting and land datasets to improve collaboration, reduce inefficiency and accelerate decision-making.

Establishing consistent data standards and exchanges will also lay the groundwork for more advanced digital and AI-enabled tools, ultimately shortening development times and enabling the transmission capacity needed to unlock clean energy projects that support the UK's long-term energy security.

Brant Wilson, Senior Manager of Innovation at SSEN Transmission, said: "Delivering the transmission infrastructure needed to connect and transport more home-grown clean energy will be critical to building a cleaner, more secure energy system. To achieve that, we need to find innovative ways to accelerate development and work more effectively across the industry.

"RAPID brings together transmission network operators, the system operator and industry partners to tackle a challenge we all share. By developing a more consistent approach to how data is structured, shared and used, we believe there is a real opportunity to significantly speed up the development of the infrastructure needed to unlock new clean energy projects.

"Following the success of the project's initial work, this funding allows us to move into development and testing and start demonstrating how these ideas could work in practice. It's a great example of the industry working together to innovate, accelerate infrastructure delivery and support the UK's long-term energy security."