Industry News Roundup July 2016
Friday 29/07 - Ofgem consults over concerns of rising embedded benefits for distribution-connected generators. The Association for Decentralised Energy calls for a full review of network charging following Ofgem’s announcement.
Thursday 28/07 - EDF Energy makes a final investment decision to build the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. But business, energy and industrial strategy secretary Greg Clark announces the government is to conduct a review before committing to the project, with a decision expected in autumn. BEIS statistics show power from coal accounted for just 10% of the electricity mix in the three months through to the end of May. Centrica confirms that profits in British Gas’s UK home division fell by 6% to £635mn in the first half of 2016.
Wednesday 27/07 - Wind Europe reveals that the European offshore wind industry attracted a record €14bn in new investments during the first six months of 2016. Executives at four renewables companies call on the Scottish government to outline how it intends to respond to a legal challenge to the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind project. A survey from the Association for the Conservation of Energy finds over a third (37%) of non-domestic buildings in London that have been given an Energy Performance Certificate since 2009 have the worst energy ratings of E, F or G.
Tuesday 26/07 - BP confirms that profits for the second quarter of the year reached $720mn––down from $1.3bn in the same period of last year. Drax also reports that its profits are down, dropping 42% year-on-year in the first half of 2016. The Welsh affairs select committee concludes that the government should only support the construction of the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant if the contract for difference strike price is below that of Hinkley Point C.
Monday 25/07 - The Scottish affairs select committee says recent government policy changes have threatened the prospects for further growth in the renewables sector. A third of jobs in the UK solar industry have been cut in the last year, PwC reveals. Ofgem decides not to change the existing rules that govern if a supplier can object to a business energy customer switching supplier. Aggregator Open Energi announced a partnership with Oxford Brookes University, which will see the institution sign a 10-year contract to provide 8MW of demand side response to National Grid.
Friday 22/07—The government opens a consultation on changes to its exemption for energy intensive industries from the indirect costs of the contracts for difference subsidy scheme. The House of Lords economic affairs committee launches an inquiry into the economics of UK energy policy. Research from the Trade Unions Congress calls on the government to back the transition to an economy driven by renewable energy. The governments of France and Ireland launch the next phase of the Celtic Interconnector: a proposed €1bn sub-sea electricity cable that would link the two countries.
Thursday 21/07—EDF Energy announces it will take a Final Investment Decision on Hinkley Point C at a meeting of its board of directors on 28 July. The energy and climate change select committee opposes moves to reverse the requirement on price comparison websites to show all of the tariffs available to consumers, as it would risk undermining trust in the market. Smart Energy GB finds economic growth and a surge in the deployment of new technologies will drive a sharp upturn in electricity use in urban parts of the country over the next 20 years. SSE says it lost 50,000 accounts in the quarter through to the end of June.
Wednesday 20/07—The parliamentary public accounts select committee finds take up of the Green Deal energy efficiency scheme was “abysmal” due to a lack of trialling and learning from other similar schemes. The National Audit Office cautions that the Treasury’s decision to cancel the £1bn carbon capture and storage commercialisation programme was short-sighted and could cost consumers £30bn. The RSPB welcomes judges’ decision to overturn planning permission for four offshore Scottish windfarms, with a total capacity of 2.3GW. The Lords approve the Fifth Carbon Budget.
Tuesday 19/07—The Association for Decentralised Energy finds the industrial, commercial and public sectors are able to provide 9.8GW of demand-side response to help bridge the upcoming “capacity gap” by 2020. An alliance of 30 environmental and energy organisations call on new business, energy and industrial strategy secretary Greg Clark to commit to the UK’s 2020 renewables targets.
Monday 18/07—The government provides further details of its new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Oxford academic Dieter Helm warns that the conclusions of the Competition and Markets Authority’s energy market investigation are “at best misguided”, recommending instead reform of standard variable tariffs.
Friday 15/07 - Gas prices rocket to year highs after Centrica is forced to shut the UK’s major gas storage facility at Rough for the coming winter. REstore secures a 25MW demand turn-up contract with National Grid. The Association for the Conservation of Energy calls on government to stick to the 2020 renewables targets.
Thursday 14/07 - The government has dissolves DECC and merges the department with BIS to create an expanded department of business, energy and industrial strategy. Former communities secretary Greg Clark is appointed as business, energy and industrial strategy secretary, while Andrea Leadsom becomes environment, food and rural affairs secretary. Scottish Renewables says the storage sector is capable of delivering savings for consumers, but recommends long-term storage assets be awarded cap-and-floor support.
Wednesday 13/07 - Energy and climate change secretary Amber Rudd is appointed home secretary by the new prime minister Theresa May. The NAO finds the estimated value of top-up payments under the Hinkley Point C contract for difference (CfD) have risen from £6.1bn in October 2013, when the strike price was agreed, to £29.7bn in March 2016.
Tuesday 12/07 - The Competition and Markets Authority releases the timetable for implementation of the remedies of its energy market investigation. ENA research shows using the existing gas networks to inject green gas and hydrogen offers a cost effective pathway to heat decarbonisation. uSwitch reports that energy suppliers have increased the price of their cheapest fixed rate energy deals. A KPMG report recommends the involvement of the private sector in energy policy administration.
Monday 11/07 - Northern Gas Networks find that converting the UK’s gas grid to hydrogen would reduce heat emissions by at least 73%. The Welsh government hails figures showing a fall in fuel poverty levels, from 29% in 2012 to a projected 23% in 2016. The Scottish government unveils a new £20mn low-carbon demonstration fund, aimed at accelerating the delivery of large-scale low carbon infrastructure projects in Scotland.
Friday 08/07 - The government confirms that its policy mechanism for guaranteeing energy security, the capacity market, will week to procure 52GW in this year’s auction. Analysis from ICIS show wholesale electricity and gas prices rising on Brexit fears. Think tank ResPublica says energy suppliers who operate within limited regions should be able to operate under a local licence.
Thursday 07/07 - Shale gas exploitation on a significant scale will not be compatible with the UK’s carbon budgets unless a series of key tests are met, the Committee on Climate Change says. The IEA says the prolonged low oil price has caused an “unprecedented downturn” in oil investments and in energy efficiency.
Wednesday 06/07 - The government re-iterates its opposition to a move away from cost-reflective network charging in a debate in Westminster Hall. The energy and climate change select committee launches an inquiry into the implications for UK climate policy of the vote to leave the EU. Committee on Climate Change chair Lord Deben says the UK requires an active policy to promote the deployment of carbon capture and storage.
Tuesday 05/07 - National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios show that even under the most optimistic scenario, the UK is set to miss its 2020 renewables targets. The Northern Ireland Audit Office finds the Northern Ireland non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive significantly exceeded the level of funding the Treasury was willing to offer. Media reports indicate the government has cancelled the Trafford gas-fired power station capacity agreement after the project failed to reach an investment milestone, though later statements indicate that the project has won an extension.
Monday 04/07 - The government opens a consultation on the large scale renewables contracts for difference regime, proposing to extend delivery years through to 2026. The Solar Trade Association unveils a new programme aimed at raising standards in the operation and maintenance of commercial solar rooftops and solar farms. Ofgem announces that it has opened an investigation into Extra Energy to assess whether it has broken rules relating to billing, customer service and complaints handling.
Friday 01/07 - British Gas announces that customers who have smart meters installed are to be offered free electricity on either Saturdays or Sundays. John Laing Environmental Assets announces it has acquired the 26MW Dungavel windfarm in South Lanarkshire.
Written By Graham Paul
