History of the Department

The Energy Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network is a young institution. The milestones below record its establishment and the first steps of its programme, and will be extended as the Department's work proceeds.

1. Before September 2026

   Energy supplied under separate arrangements

   Before the Department existed, each member organisation of the Network contracted separately for the supply of its sites, kept its own register of installations and installers, and set its own inspection intervals. The generating stations serving the Network were overseen by the organisations that had built them, and no single body held a view of generation and demand across the Network as a whole.

2. 10 August to 5 September 2026

   The transition period

   In the four weeks before establishment, member organisations transferred to the incoming Department the oversight of the five generating stations, their registers of 2,316 certified installations, 148 registered installers and eleven connections, and the interim supply control room at Central Exchange, which was staffed continuously from 10 August. During the period 128.4 gigawatt hours were supplied, peak demand of 286 megawatts was recorded on 27 August, and the baseline renewable share of 37.7 per cent was measured.

3. 6 September 2026

   Department established

   The Energy Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network was formally established, with responsibility for the generation and supply of energy, the Renewable Programme, installation safety, connections, and the response to supply interruptions and energy emergencies.

4. 6 September 2026

   Official website launched

   The Department launched energy.gov.vin, carrying press releases, official statements, the schedule of planned outages, the Department's registers and guidance on the services it provides.

5. 6 September 2026

   First statement, programme schedule and safety regime published

   On the day of its establishment the Department published its first Generation and Supply Statement, the schedule of the Renewable Programme to 2030, the installation safety regime with its five classes and inspection intervals, the register of connections and the schedule of planned outages to 18 October 2026.

6. October 2026

   Renewable Programme begins

   Surveys for rooftop solar at the six principal sites begin and the first call for site proposals opens. The first quarterly Generation and Supply Statement, covering the quarter ending 30 September 2026, is published.

7. 1 December 2026

   Eastfield Solar Array extension

   The first project of the Renewable Programme, a 12 megawatt extension of Eastfield Solar Array, enters commissioning.

8. Forthcoming

   Procurement arrangements and the 2030 target

   The procurement arrangements for the second phase of Fenmoor Wind Array and the Central Exchange battery will be announced in the Newsroom. Progress against the target of a 60 per cent renewable share by 31 December 2030 will be reported in each quarterly statement.

Announcements are published in the Newsroom. For the Department's present responsibilities, see About the Department; for the schedule of the programme these milestones follow, see the Renewable Programme; for its reporting on supply and demand, see Statistics.