Industry News Roundup April 2016
Friday 29/04 - Over a third of businesses want the government to introduce grants for energy efficiency, according to a survey from industry group the British Chambers of Commerce. Energy regulator Ofgem says energy switching in the first quarter of the year was up by 8%. The Association for Decentralised Energy confirms plans for a Code of Practice for demand-side response aggregators
Thursday 28/04 - The government finds public support for renewables up to 81%, its highest level in around three years, though concerns about energy security rise. The Scottish Labour Party says it would implement at 50% renewables target for 2030, if elected to government. The Westminster Sustainable Business Forum warns the government of “fundamental problems” with focusing supplier obligations on fuel poverty. Energy and climate change secretary Amber Rudd outlines in a letter to Parliament the action being taken by the government to ease the impact of high gas and electricity costs on energy intensive industries.
Wednesday 27/04 - Supplier Scottish Power confirms that profits in its renewables division fell by nearly a quarter in the first three months of 2016. The company also announces Siemens will supply the 102 turbines required for the East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm. The energy and climate change select committee tells the government it should confirm the Fifth Carbon Budget in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change. Former energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey launches the Local Community Supply project, which is aiming to develop the links between regional generation and local authority supply
Tuesday 26/04 - Scottish Power confirms it will pay £18mn in fines for “inadequate” billing, call handling and complaint resolution following the adoption of a new IT system. The Lords again amends the Energy Bill to broaden the grace period criteria for onshore wind project seeking eligibility for the Renewables Obligation, potentially adding costs. Oil major BP confirms that it made a loss of $485mn in the first quarter of the year. The energy and climate change select committee confirms it will call in representatives of EDF Energy to explain the latest delay to a Final Investment Decision on Hinkley Point C.
Monday 25/04 - Opposition peers in the Lords amend new government legislation on housing to reintroduce a requirement for Zero Carbon Homes from 2018. The Institution of Civil Engineers says the government must be transparent and consistent in detailing how the UK will meet its climate change targets. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce calls on the UK government to work with the administration at Holyrood in developing a 50-year energy strategy, in order to provide stability for businesses.
Friday 22/04 - The British Beer and Pub Association warns that the government’s energy efficiency tax reforms could cost the pub sector £44mn and raise costs for other small businesses. Delegates of more than 190 countries gather to sign the Paris climate agreement. Press reports confirm that a final investment decision by EDF on the Hinkley Point C project is to be further delayed.
Thursday 21/04 -The Competition and Markets Authority releases stakeholder responses to its provisional energy market remedies, the Federation of Small Businesses expresses disappointment with the proposals. Supplier SSE also blogs on the investigation, saying some of the remedies were based on seriously flawed analysis. The European Parliament’s industry and energy committee calls for further adoption of collective buying and onsite energy generation to empower consumers.
Wednesday 20/04 -The Scottish National Party pledges to ensure that at least half of new renewable energy projects will have an element of shared ownership by 2020. Energy minister Andrea Leadsom reiterates the government’s backing for new nuclear power generation. MPs vote down a Lords amendment to the Energy Bill that would have broadened the grace period criteria for the closure of the Renewables Obligation. The Renewable Energy Association finds that a greater uptake in the use of gaseous renewable fuels, such as bio methane, would be an effective method of meeting the UK’s 2020 renewable energy targets.
Tuesday 19/04 - Energy and climate secretary Amber Rudd says alternative capacity could be sourced if the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station is cancelled, but that this scenario increase costs. The Charity Commission calls for greater scrutiny of charities’ relationship with commercial partners following its investigation of Age UK’s partnership with E.ON UK. The CEO of Drax says the power station could phase out coal generation by 2020, but warns that converting the three remaining units to biomass would be “impossible” without new subsidy.
Monday 18/04 - Royal Bank of Scotland says last year it lent over £1bn to support sustainable energy projects in the UK and will now look to boost lending for energy efficiency projects for businesses. Analysts at Ernst & Young suggest that oil production at the Kimmeridge discovery in Southern England could be worth £52.6bn to the UK economy.
Friday 15/05 - The House of Commons Library releases a research briefing on the CMA energy market investigation. Ofgem confirms it has identified what obligations will be placed on Transmission System Operators by the four new electricity network codes from the EU.
Thursday 14/04 - Energy regulator Ofgem tells suppliers it will no longer be enforcing key parts of its RMR package, including the four tariff rule. The National Audit Office finds that the Green Deal energy efficiency scheme failed to provide value for money or significantly reduce carbon emissions. The IEA confirms that growth in global oil demand will ease to around 1.2mb/d in 2016––below the 1.8mb/d last year. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says the UK should remain in the EU to work with other countries in tackling climate change.
Wednesday 13/04 - Energy UK says electricity switching in March 2016 reached the second highest level ever recorded in a month, with small suppliers making a net gain of 156,054 - 33% of all switches. The government confirms it will aim for the market delivery of a further 9GW of interconnection, up from the 5GW that it previously said it would target. The European Commission finds that capacity mechanisms in some countries are unnecessary, poorly designed and can distort competition. Research by market intelligence firm ICIS reveals that UK wholesale gas averaged 32p/th in the first quarter of the year––the lowest quarterly average in 10 years.
Tuesday 12/04 - Opposition peers amend the Energy Bill to allow an additional 90MW of onshore wind capacity to become eligible under the government’s Renewables Obligation grace period criteria. European electricity trade association Eurelectric addresses a number of public misconceptions about retail energy markets, including claims that energy bills increased as a consequence of rising company profits. Conservative London mayor candidate Zac Goldsmith reveals plans to implement minimum energy efficiency standards.
Monday 11/04 - Manufacturers association EEF says the higher electricity prices paid by the UK steel industry have undermined its international competitiveness in recent years. The UK in a Changing Europe initiative warns that a vote to leave the EU could bring into question the UK’s long-term commitment to emissions reduction an increase investor uncertainty. The Carbon Trust suggests that businesses could save 20% on their energy bills if they implement the energy saving measures identified under the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme.
Friday 08/04 - The government consults on the future of the Warm Homes Discount, planning its extension to 2020-21 at current funding levels. Economist and Ofgem adviser David Osmon calls for businesses that use large amounts of gas and electricity to be hit with a higher level of VAT on their energy bills. The Bright Blue think tank launches a multi-year project aimed at shaping centre-right thinking on the environment and energy over the course of the current Parliament.
Thursday 07/04 - National Grid’s Summer Outlook confirms that businesses might be called on to turn up power consumption during minimum demand periods to help balance the system. A uSwitch survey shows six in 10 consumers still do not fully understand their energy bills. French energy minister Ségolène Royal says that the Final Investment Decision on EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power station could be further delayed.
Wednesday 06/04 - The Green Alliance and E3G release a briefing saying that Brexit is likely to significantly increase investor uncertainty and could raise energy prices. Think tank IPPR says the next mayor of London must aim to increase the city’s solar capacity to at least 750MW by 2025. The Competition and Markets Authority has failed to address the issues with energy system governance, according to E3G senior associate Simon Skillings.
Tuesday 05/04 - The government opens the sixth round of Heat Network Delivery Unit funding. Oxford academic Dieter Helm says that the UK should reconsider its approach to investment in nuclear power if it wants to place the future nuclear programme on “sounder and more economic foundations”. Think tank the Intergenerational Foundation argues that renewables technologies could deliver a cheaper and safer low-carbon transition than new nuclear power. The International Energy Agency says wind and solar generation from OECD countries was up 16% last year. Analysis from the World Resources Institute finds the UK is among 21 countries to have reduced their annual greenhouse gas emissions while growing their economies since 2000.
Monday 04/04 - Air Products decides to exit its energy-from-waste business, abandoning its Tees Valley projects in the UK. Innovate UK invites businesses to apply for a share of funding in the fourth round of the Energy Catalyst funding competition. The Energy Networks Association launches a consultation on measures designed to make more efficient use of capacity on the electricity network.
Friday 01/04 - New regulations come into force meaning that tenants will have the right to request consent from their landlords to make energy-saving improvements to the properties they rent. SSE announces it has secured a deal to transfer its 80% ownership stake in the Machrihanish-based Wind Towers Scotland factory to CS Wind.
Written By Graham Paul