The UK’s gas and electricity networks invite all energy stakeholders, innovators and pioneers to join them on 16-17 October for the eighth annual Low Carbon Network Innovation (LCNI) Conference in Telford. As innovation in energy is moving so quickly, this is the best place for stakeholders from the world of energy and beyond to come Read more…

Simec Atlantis Energy has hired former Drax conversion manager Ernie Rowe to spearhead conversion of the Uskmouth coal power station to a 220MW energy from waste (EfW) plant. The company thinks conversion to EfW could deliver a second life for coal-fired power stations. In the UK, unabated coal has to come off the system by Read more…

SSE has installed 1 million smart meters, which means it has rolled out some 275,000 since the start of the year. The firm reported it had installed 725,000 as of 31 December 2017. SSE said it continues to increase the rate of installation, but to hit the 2020 deadline it must install a further six Read more…

Npower faces a £2.4m penalty for failing to meet the deadline to install advanced meters at business customer sites, and for installing standard meters at some sites when it should have installed advanced ones. Ofgem said the fine should serve as a warning to suppliers as the 2020 smart meter deadline approaches. The fine is Read more…

Cuadrilla has been granted planning permission to start fracking in Lancashire by energy minister Claire Perry. The government has made a number of moves to oversee planning for shale gas in recent years. Cuadrilla can now start to extract methane via hydraulic fracturing from the Bowland Basin via the Preston New Road site, provided government receives Read more…

Ofgem has broken cover over major changes to network charging and access. The regulator is trying to ensure that the way businesses and households are charged for using the grid is reflective of the costs their actions cause. It admits that distributed generators are exploiting loopholes in the current arrangements, and wants to force “developers Read more…

Some MPs and lords have suggested the smart meter plan might be sub-optimal, in a new report. Signed by Grant Schapps, the report questions the logic of the ‘supplier-led’ rollout and underpinning policy. It concludes that benefits may be smaller than assumed by wonks attempting to read auguries about a decade ago. The report notes Read more…

Government is consulting on bringing planning permission for shale gas production under its remit. The consultation, which closes in October, seeks views on timings and criteria for major shale gas production projects to be included in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime. The regime gives powers to the secretary of state, rather than local planning, Read more…

The government appointed carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) task force has delivered its recommendations to help deliver CCUS at scale. It calls for similar subsidy support that has driven down the cost of offshore wind and other technologies over the last two decades, and for government to agree to share transport and storage infrastructure Read more…

A coalition of major industrials is stepping up government lobbying to force a gas security inquiry. Gas Security Group member, the British Ceramic Confederation, says members are willing to pay an insurance premium to help finance adequate gas storage. The British Ceramic Confederation represents some 90 highly gas intensive ceramics manufacturers. Confederation technical director, Andrew Read more…

Economist and consultant Franck Latrémolière outlines the key arguments in the embedded benefits legal challenge, why they failed, what could have been, and what may now rear its head as a result. In November 2017 I predicted that Ofgem would be defeated in the application for judicial review of its decision to reduced embedded benefits for Read more…

Ofgem has seen off a legal challenge over cuts to embedded benefits. The judgement was handed down this morning by Mr Justice Lavender, who rejected the application for judicial review. Peak Gen Power had led a challenge to Ofgem’s decision to drastically reduce so-called embedded benefits, which have been a significant source of income for distributed Read more…

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…

Government will legislate to increase efficiency requirements of combined heat and power (CHP) plants supported by the contracts for difference (CfD) regime. Both large and smaller (sub-25MWe) plants applying for CfD support will need to demonstrate a minimum of 70% overall efficiency, primary energy savings of 10% and 10% heat efficiency. The department for business, Read more…

MPs on the Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Committee have launched an inquiry into carbon capture and storage (CCS), or as it is now called, carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS). CCS/CCUS involves capturing emissions and either burying them in old gas fields or salt caverns, or using some of the carbon in industrial products. Read more…

Electrification of heat was seen as a key policy objective in the early part of this decade, but appears to have receded in recent years, largely on grounds of cost of meeting winter peak demand. The government and much of industry now talk about a ‘whole systems approach’ that involves greener gases, such as hydrogen Read more…

Hydrogen is seen as a key option for decarbonising gas and therefore heat. Some studies suggest it could reduce emissions from heat by almost three quarters, while also helping to decarbonise transport, power and industry. So what’s the catch? The Committee on Climate Change has repeatedly called for “proper” hydrogen trials so that decisions on Read more…

Cadent has published plans to inject hydrogen into its distribution network in the North West while capturing and storing carbon in depleted gas fields in Liverpool Bay. The UK’s largest gas distribution network operator, formerly owned by National Grid, says the £0.9bn HyNet project, if given support by the government and allowed by the regulator, Read more…