Energy Insights: Strategic Change Shaping the Sector

Autumn Edition

Welcome to our latest quarterly summary of highlights from our energy team and clients across Shakespeare Martineau.

From a regulatory perspective, it’s been a busy year, with no let-up over the summer months.

Andrew Whitehead

Head of Energy & Utilities

We’ve seen the emergence of the National Energy System Operator (NESO) as the strategic planner for the energy system. Its first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) for Great Britain, expected later this year, will be crucial for developers and investors. It should identify broad locations, technologies, capacities and timescales for future power generation, storage and hydrogen projects, across the period to 2050. The SSEP will, in turn, inform the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP), which will shape the long-term development of our electricity and wider energy networks.

At the same time, connections reform has continued at pace. The shift from a first-come, first-served approach to a "ready and needed" framework is fundamentally changing how projects secure grid connections, with Gate 2 status now a critical milestone for many developments. The reformed connections process is increasingly focused on the technologies and projects needed to meet future system requirements, although the reform programme is still evolving. Attention is also turning to demand-side connections, particularly data centres, hydrogen production facilities and industrial electrification projects. Here, the SSEP is expected to provide much-needed strategic direction.

On that theme, we report on Ofgem’s minded-to decisions under the first long duration energy storage (LDES) cap and floor regime, with 16 projects provisionally selected for support. A significant proportion of these projects are located in the north of Scotland, where LDES could play an important role in reducing constraint costs associated with surplus wind generation.

The common thread running through these developments is the growing importance of strategic alignment and whole-system thinking. We are beginning to see planning and regulatory reform support a move away from project-by-project decision making towards a more coordinated and strategically planned energy system. Much as National Planning Statements have influenced planning decisions in recent times, the SSEP is likely to become an increasingly important strategic document for investors, developers and decision-makers alike.

The East London Hydrogen Pipeline: great idea, wrong route?

Hydrogen has the potential to play a major role in decarbonising East London's industrial economy. The proposed East London Hydrogen Pipeline is designed to connect hydrogen producers in the Thames Estuary with major industrial users, helping businesses to reduce emissions while maintaining the high-temperature energy processes that are so difficult to electrify.

But the success of the project may depend less on the technology itself and more on one crucial question - is the route actually reaching the right customers?

Infrastructure only creates value if enough customers are willing and able to use it. The pipeline's business case relies on industrial demand from a relatively small number of large energy users. If the route misses key future demand centres, or if major customers choose electrification instead of hydrogen, the network risks becoming an expensive asset operating below capacity.

The challenge is that industrial decarbonisation pathways remain uncertain. Some sectors appear natural candidates for hydrogen, while others may favour electric technologies as costs fall. A route that looks optimal today may not be optimal in ten years' time.

That is why route selection should not simply follow existing industry. It should anticipate where future industrial growth, logistics hubs, energy-intensive manufacturing and strategic regeneration projects will emerge. The proposed connections to areas such as Thames Enterprise Park are a perfect example, but getting the balance right will be critical.

The lesson is simple: a hydrogen pipeline is not valuable because it transports hydrogen. Rather, it is valuable because it connects supply with long-term demand.

If the route captures the right industrial clusters, the East London Hydrogen Pipeline could become a cornerstone of London's net-zero economy.

If it does not, the project may struggle regardless of how successful hydrogen itself becomes.

Considering a hydrogen or wider energy infrastructure project? Speak to Martyn Thorpe about the commercial, regulatory and strategic factors that can help set projects up for long-term success.

Supporting investment in the UK's energy infrastructure

We were pleased to recently support Statera on the real estate aspects of a major investment by Ares into a portfolio of UK energy projects, advising across nine projects within a 1.9GW portfolio.

Transactions of this scale highlight the importance of getting the fundamentals right. From securing site interests and managing landowner arrangements to resolving real estate issues that could impact investment timelines, specialist legal support plays a key role in helping projects move forward with confidence.

Whether you're developing, funding or investing in energy infrastructure, our team can help identify and address the real estate issues that often sit at the heart of successful project delivery.

Learn more about the investment and what it means for the UK's energy sector.

Learn more

If you're progressing an energy project and would like to discuss the opportunities or challenges ahead, we'd love to hear from you.

Delivering energy projects across Scotland

Scotland continues to play a pivotal role in the UK's energy transition, and we're proud to be supporting clients across a diverse range of renewable energy and infrastructure projects.

Over the past few months, our Scottish team has advised on a number of significant transactions. Most notably, we supported Kona Energy on the property aspects of the 228MW Smeaton Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in East Lothian, which was acquired by Masdar. The transaction marked the culmination of several years of involvement from our team, during which we negotiated the original option agreement, project lease, off-site wayleaves and key access rights over third-party land. The project is one of the largest battery storage schemes in Scotland and reflects the increasing scale and maturity of the UK's energy storage market.

Recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers for another year

We're proud to have once again been recognised by both Legal 500 and Chambers as a leading firm for energy law, policy and infrastructure.

For our clients, these rankings provide independent recognition of the depth of experience, sector knowledge and practical support available across our national energy team. Whether advising on renewables, infrastructure, development or energy transactions, we're committed to helping clients make informed decisions and achieve their objectives in a fast-moving market.

This year's results reflect both our strong foundations and continued growth. We retained our top-tier Legal 500 rankings across the East and West Midlands, reinforcing our position in our Midlands heartland, while also maintaining our strong presence in the highly competitive London market. We're also delighted to have once again been recognised by Chambers as a leading UK-wide firm for power, renewables and alternative energy.

We're particularly pleased to see individual recognition for Andrew Whitehead, Peter Dilks and Aller Dawlat in Legal 500, with Andrew also recognised in Chambers and in the Legal 500’s Hall of Fame. These rankings reflect the expertise, commitment and commercial approach they bring to supporting clients across the energy sector.

A huge thank you to our clients for their continued trust, support and feedback. Their insights play an important role in these rankings and help us continue to strengthen the service we provide.

Managing the growing burden of data requests

For some time now, energy and water companies have been in the firing line for data requests, particularly Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests. These organisations often hold vast amounts of personal and operational data, while operating in a highly regulated and often politically sensitive environment where public scrutiny is high.

They are now facing another consequence of the rise of AI: individuals are increasingly using AI-powered tools to generate and submit data requests. Managing these requests in a compliant and timely manner can significantly increase costs and divert valuable internal resources.

Our managed legal services team provides a practical, defensible and cost-effective solution through a fixed-fee, end-to-end data response service. We support organisations with DSARs from customers and former employees, as well as EIR and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, drawing on extensive experience across a range of sectors. Our specialist team of paralegals combines legal process expertise with advanced technology and lawyer oversight to deliver an efficient, consistent and robust response.

We tailor our approach to each client's needs while providing certainty over costs through a transparent fixed-fee structure. We also produce a comprehensive audit trail documenting every step taken, helping to demonstrate compliance and providing reassurance in the event of regulatory scrutiny.

Interested in learning more? Download our one-page guide to see how our fixed-fee data response service can help reduce costs, ease the burden on internal teams and support compliance.

Download guide

If managing increasing volumes of data requests is placing pressure on your team, legal director Natalie Spink would be pleased to discuss how a tailored, fixed-fee solution could help reduce costs, free up internal resource and strengthen your compliance position. Contact Natalie on Natalie.spink@shma.co.uk or 0117 906 9216.

AEEC Summer Camp 2026

In September, Stewart Argo and Georgia Spyrou attended the Association for European Energy and Climate Lawyers' (AEEC) Summer Camp in Meisenheim, Germany, joining energy and climate law specialists from across Europe to explore the theme: New Reality in the Energy World – Opportunities and Risks.

The programme reflected many of the issues currently shaping the sector, with discussions covering European energy policy, the resurgence of biogas, small modular reactors, carbon capture and storage, emissions trading, and the growing role of AI.

Georgia presented as part of the Emissions Trading and Voluntary Carbon Credits working group, while Stewart spoke about the opportunities AI presents for professional services, alongside the practical challenges organisations need to address.

The programme highlighted the wide range of factors shaping today's energy landscape, from emerging technologies and carbon markets to evolving policy and regulatory frameworks. Together, the sessions painted a picture of a sector adapting to both significant opportunities and new challenges.

Bringing together experts from across the continent, the AEEC Summer Camp offered a valuable opportunity to explore how these trends are evolving and what they could mean for the future direction of the energy sector.

Meet the team

Stewart Argo

Legal Director

Stewart, one of our legal directors, joined our energy team earlier this year, to focus his general commercial and technology practice towards clients operating in a regulated environment across electricity, gas, water and telecoms. Stewart has worked with Shakespeare Martineau throughout his career, with stints on secondment to clients including National Energy System Operator and Bryt Energy. For our team, it’s been vital to pivot slightly to recognise that the sector is digitalising rapidly, and our clients are increasingly coming to us for support in areas which require in depth knowledge and practical experience of hardware and software applications which of course underpin so much of the sector in which our clients operate.

As a snapshot, Stewart’s workload currently includes supporting on telecoms procurement for a client active in the smart metering arena, assisting in NESO’s development of a new balancing service, and leading on the commercial/tech due diligence on a sector M&A deal.

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