Industry News Roundup December 2019
Tuesday 31/12 – The price cap has saved 11mn customers £1bn on energy bills in 2019, according to BEIS.
Monday 30/12 – The Scottish government is seeking views from homeowners on a new, legally binding standard for home energy efficiency from 2024 onwards to tackle climate change and eradicate fuel poverty.
23/12 – 27/12 - Centrica agrees to sell its 382MW King's Lynn combined cycle gas turbine power station to RWE Generation for £105mn on 23 December. National Grid Gas Transmission launches its first annual Gas Markets Plan on 23 December. BEIS reveals on 27 December that the total non-domestic RHI forecast expenditure as at 30 November 2019 was £908.77mn. This is £37.78mn less than the total anticipated expenditure threshold of £946.55mn for the year following 30 November 2019.
Friday 13/12 – The outcome of the General Election was confirmed to be a Conservative government with an 80-seat majority. The UN International Resource Panel publishes a report assessing the reduction potential of greenhouse gas emissions from efficiency strategies applied in residential buildings and light duty vehicles.
Thursday 12/12 – Voting for the 2019 General Election takes place. The Scottish government announces that it signed the Transport Decarbonisation Alliance Charter at the UN COP25 summit.
Wednesday 11/12 – The European Commission presents the European Green Deal, which provides a roadmap to making Europe the net zero by 2050. The World Green Building Council announces that seven world-leading private sector companies have pledged to cut emissions from their buildings to net zero, by signing up to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.
Tuesday 10/12 – The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approves the sale of SSE Energy Services to Ovo. Drax Group reveals its ambition to be carbon negative by 2030. According to a new poll from Citizens Advice, an accurate bill is the top priority for energy consumers.
Monday 9/12 – Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell announces that the party would aim to begin the utilities nationalisation process within the first 100 days of a Labour government. The UK Energy Research Centre urges the introduction of a heat and energy efficiency White Paper. National Grid ESO reports that wind generated 43.7% of electricity in GB on Sunday 8 December, with Sunday morning seeing the longest run of negative imbalance prices to date, as prices fell to minus £88/MWh.
Friday 6/12 – Leading investors write to all EU heads of state and government, urging them to place a net zero emissions target into European law. SmartestEnergy announces the acquisition of smart meter supplier Dual Energy. A study from the World Benchmarking Alliance and the CDP reveals that a lack of investment in low-carbon vehicles is putting the automotive sector at risk of missing the Paris climate goals.
Thursday 5/12 – The Committee on Climate Change launches a Call for Evidence to inform its advice to the government on the Sixth Carbon Budget, set to be published in September 2020. Ofgem announces that the total Renewables Obligation (RO) shortfall amount across all RO schemes for 2018-19 is £97,507,140.17, which is sufficient to trigger mutualisation. The Hydrogen Council and the European Investment Bank sign an agreement to collaborate on the development of innovative schemes to finance hydrogen projects.
Wednesday 4/12 – The Institute for Fiscal Studies sets out the scale of the Labour’s proposed programme to nationalise various sectors as detailed in its 2019 General Election Manifesto. A report from the European Environment Agency concludes that Europe will not achieve its 2030 goals without urgent action during the next 10 years. A report by the Science Based Targets initiative reveals that a high portion of the private sector is already delivering on the 2015 global climate accord.
Tuesday 3/12 – The government publishes its heavily redacted report on the fracking industry following a court order. Oil and Gas UK publishes a report calling for urgent action to progress low carbon technologies.
Monday 2/12 – The Federation of Master Builders urges political parties to support the cutting of VAT on home improvements works from 20% to 5% to “unleash green housing”. The Scottish government publishes an open letter to stakeholders, setting out ways in which they can engage with its Housing to 2040 consultation. A report from RenewableUK has shown that the total cumulative capacity of battery storage planning applications has risen from 6,900MW in 2018 to over 10,500MW in 2019.
Written By Graham Paul
