2019 could prove an interesting year for electric vehicles and renewables as a new breed of investor emerges, according to directors and managers at Octopus Investments. Dan Saunders, investment director at Octopus: “Octopus expects 2019 to be significant for the deployment of electric vehicles in the UK due to helpful policy-making. The introduction of the Clean Read more…
Big cracks emerging in energy retail
Energy suppliers face a cocktail of risk and the cracks are starting to appear in the business models of both large and small firms. There is a significant chance that more will soon go bust or withdraw from the market, says Jo Butlin. Like all dot-to-dot pictures, it is only when the dots are joined Read more…
A new kind of CHP: Brunel University creates hybrid solar PV-heat pipe system
Brunel University is developing ‘Lego-style’ snap together solar panels that harness heat pipes to generate both heat and power. The £10m project, funded under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, hopes to drive down cost and carbon while helping to heat and power domestic and non-domestic buildings. The modular PV panels – called PVadapt – incorporate Read more…
National Grid calls for Local Authorities to engage in DSR
National Grid invites Local Authorities interested in providing demand-side response to a workshop in Birmingham on 26th September, and outlines why they should attend. Power Responsive is a programme of work facilitated by National Grid with the ambition of supporting the growth of demand side participation in GB electricity markets. Now in its fourth year, Read more…
The power of God: Churches convert to renewable electricity
The Church of England’s procurement group, Parish Buying, is buying renewable electricity through Total Gas & Power. Thousands of churches and cathedrals have now converted to renewable power. As a result, British churches have diverted millions of pounds from fossil fuels to clean energy. An organised ‘big switch’ campaign earlier this summer is another route open to Read more…
Upside Energy: Small scale DSR is actually easier than large scale
Upside Energy founder and chief scientist, Graham Oakes, offers a counter argument to recent suggestions by Kiwi Power CEO, Yoav Zingher, that the industry should crack large scale DSR before moving on to smaller scale flexibility. Many people think industrial and commercial DSR is easier than micro business or domestic DSR. You just need to Read more…
PPA platform launches to connect I&C firms direct with renewables developers
A new portal connecting industrial, commercial and public sector energy buyers with renewables developers claims it will make the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market more transparent. The consultancy behind the platform represents some large users, such as Liberty Global Group (Virgin Media), Pizza Hut and the Mexican government. Juan Pablo Cerda, managing director at Almach, Read more…
Aurora: Murky markets undermining corporate PPAs
Corporate PPAs were seen as the great hope of post-subsidy renewables. But they have perhaps received a disproportionate amount of attention in relation to the volumes of new renewables they have actually delivered, according to Aurora’s Hugo Batten and Dimitri Kyriazis. They argue that market opacity, high transaction costs and a lack of end-to-end expertise are hurdles to Read more…
Opinion: Why is energy regulation so glacially slow?
The energy market is changing far more quickly than the rules, stifling innovation and creating mounting problems. Jo Butlin urges rule makers to keep up. I gave a presentation last week on the future of the Energy market to 2050. During the presentation, I heard myself say ‘change has happened in the market far faster Read more…
Welsh start-up claims more massive lighting savings – 96% at retailer Claire’s
Welsh start-up EnModus claims its technology, which uses existing mains wiring to connect lights to an internet platform, has delivered 96% energy savings at a UK warehouse operated by retailer Claire’s. The trial follows claims by the company earlier this year that a similar project at a Virgin Media data centre cut lighting consumption by Read more…
Can you prove how good your last energy project was?
The Association for Decentralised Energy wants to hear from firms that think they have delivered world-class energy projects. If they are as good as you believe they are, and you can prove it, it’s probably worth entering the ADE’s awards. The Association wants to hear from parties that have helped deliver projects in areas including Read more…
Energy convergence: Why you can’t afford to miss The Energyst Event
The free conference and exhibition, 17-18 April at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, highlights the impact of the convergence of energy procurement, efficiency and flexibility on your business. The decentralisation of energy is having a profound effect on all aspects of the system. The Energyst Event aims to discuss what this means for businesses – Read more…
Reactive Technologies launches ‘CHP optimisation as a service’
Reactive Technologies has launched ‘CHP optimisation as a service’ which it says uses machine learning to optimise run times and revenues for combined heat and power plant. The firm’s initial client is a large retailer, for whom it is optimising “hundreds of small CHPs” around the country, according to head of retail, Mark Cavill, who Read more…
Opinion: Five things I learned from the Triad court hearing
I observed part of the hearing yesterday in the judicial review of Ofgem’s decision to reduce triad benefits for distributed generation by changing the charging base for the triad charging element of transmission network use of system charges from net demand (the power drawn by distribution systems from the transmission system to serve a supplier’s Read more…
Risky business: Carillion’s demise a warning for FM firms
Carillion’s demise illustrates the need for firms involved in the FM sector to carefully manage cost and risk, because the energy world is only becoming more complex, says Lisa Gingell. Smart cities, smart buildings, industry 4.0 and the move to more decentralised utilities and communications networks is creating a world filled with millions of connected Read more…
Blockchain – not the definitive article
Electron’s strategy director, Jon Ferris, explodes some of the myths surrounding blockchain’s security, scalability and energy consumption. The increasing media coverage of bitcoin may lead to a wider and better understanding of blockchain in the long term, but in the short term has entrenched a number of myths about security, scalability and energy consumption. Bitcoin Read more…
University of Strathclyde & Arbnco partner to solve energy efficiency fails in buildings
The Energy Systems Research Unit (ESRU) at the University of Strathclyde is working with software provider Arbnco on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership to work out why the actual energy performance of buildings is often well below design expectations. This gap leads to higher costs, higher consumption, unhappy clients and can foster distrust, and therefore energy Read more…
Why more firms are obtaining electricity supply licences
Consultant Jo Butlin believes a push to obtain electricity supply licences by aggregators, local authorities and renewable generators is set to continue as they try to maximise value and minimise reliance – and payments – to incumbents. Meanwhile those that fully exploit opportunities afforded to licence holders may actually deliver the innovation in business models that has long been Read more…
We need to talk about Triad
Smart Grid Consultancy director, Gary Swandells, believes heated debate around proposed cuts to Triad payments is fuelling fear and misunderstanding of the nature of the changes. He points out that Triad avoidance will likely become even more valuable, and only those generators that receive a disproportionate benefit by exporting power in those periods will be affected. Read more…
Directors ‘right not to spend cash on energy efficiency’
Energy efficiency isn’t a priority for many board directors, who would rather spend company cash on revenue generating activities. They are the smart ones, Capitas Finance energy efficiency specialist Jason Hunter tells The Energyst. Finance remains the biggest perceived barrier to energy efficiency investment amongst small and medium-sized enterprises and the public sector, according to a Read more…
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