The UK infrastructure sector saw a 298% increase in project approvals during October; the second consecutive month of triple-digit growth, according to construction analysts Barbour ABI.
September approvals had already risen by 136%, underscoring an upward trend in the sector.
However, Barbour’s head of business and client analytics, Ed Griffiths, sounded a note of caution, given that a smaller number of contract awards had actually been made, but of a significantly higher value.
“It is more realistically another flat month for awards overall,” he concluded.
The company attributed a significant amount of the growth to an uplift in green energy projects.
Central to the October gains were five renewable energy initiatives, each valued at over £100 million (US$126 million). The largest of these is the £3.6 billion (US$4.5 billion) Ossian Offshore Wind Farm, a 3.6GW floating wind farm project to be located some 84km off the east coast of Scotland.
In England, other significant approvals in October include:
- Stanlow HyNet Hydrogen Production Plant (North West)
- Cottam Solar Project (600MW, Midlands)
- The Balk Solar Farm and Energy Storage System (49.9MW, Yorkshire and Humber)
- Bob Lane Battery Energy Storage System (264MW, South East)
In September, large battery storage projects in Scotland and the North East of England also played a significant role in bolstering the sector’s performance.
Griffiths, said, “We’ve seen a string of massive approvals in recent months, including one of the largest solar farms on record.”
In terms of the broader construction industry, infrastructure approvals were up 44% and 59% in September and October, respectively.
Over the same period, new applications for projects entering the planning system rose by 18%.