Ofgem has opened an investigation into National Grid and Scottish Power’s transmission arms over repeated outages and late delivery of the Western high-voltage (HVDC) subsea cable. The £1.3billion Western HVDC connector links Highland wind farms via Hunterston to North Wales. On 10 January 2020, the 239-mile subsea stretch suffered its third complete trip out in Read more…

Simec Atlantis said its MeyGen tidal power scheme in Pentland Firth, Scotland, exported over 13.8GWh in 2019, generating some £3.9m in revenue. The Gupta-owned firm hopes to develop up to 80MW of capacity at the site and last year floated plans to power a data centre at Caithness, using a power purchase agreement via private Read more…

Bosch will pay £38m to increase its stake from 4 per cent to 18 per cent in UK fuel cell maker Ceres. The company will use some of the money to start building fuel cells, from 30kW to 200kW, taking its technology into more industrial and commercial applications. Ceres will also examine the potential for Read more…

Birmingham Airport plans to install megawatts of solar across its estate as it bids to decarbonise operations by 2033. Head of sustainability, Kirstin McCarthy, said the airport is about to tender for services to help develop its carbon roadmap and “deliver some tangible projects that demonstrate we are serious about delivering our net zero aims”. Read more…

Gridserve has completed a huge co-location project for Warrington Borough Council. The 34.7MW solar and 27MW storage farm at York was constructed in five months. The council, which is also buying a 25.7MW solar farm at Hull, expects to earn millions of pounds in annual revenue from the two schemes, selling power and grid services Read more…

“Net zero is achievable, but requires immediate action on all fronts,” according to National Grid ESO head of strategy Kayte O’Neill. The UK must “stop trying to pick winners and start to make progress” across the board. Speaking at an MEUC conference, O’Neill said there are “no regrets options” available immediately and that energy efficiency Read more…

2020 will be a big year for clean energy investment, with subsidy-free development under power purchase agreements (PPAs) starting to gain significant momentum, according to Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of Sustainable Development Capital Limited. SDLC launched sustainable energy investment fund SEEIT 12 months ago, initially raising £100m. Since then it has almost tripled in size while Read more…

Lightsource BP is to construct a 4.9MWp solar installation at Ibstock Brick’s Leicestershire headquarters. The scheme is fully funded by Lightsource BP and a power purchase agreement (PPA) will see electricity from the installation ‘hard-wired’ into Ibstock Brick’s private electricity network, providing 30 per cent of the site’s annual electricity demand. Ibstock Brick will purchase Read more…

Mitsubishi Corporation is to take an 80 per cent stake in Dutch energy firm Eneco. Fellow Japanese firm Chubu will take the remaining 20 per cent as part of the €4.1bn deal. Eneco is owned by 44 municipalities. It owns or has a share in 3.5GW of generation, of which almost half is onshore wind. Read more…

SSE has called on political parties to commit warm words on green energy to paper, warning that ramping up offshore wind ambition to 40GW “will not be a walk in the park”. Jim Smith, managing director, SSE Renewables, urged parties outlining net zero credentials in the run up the general election to be sure to Read more…

A trial involving lorries used by Asda, Howard Tenens and Kuehne + Nagel suggests significant CO2 savings can be achieved by using biomethane. The Dedicated to Gas project, part funded by Olev and InnovateUK, involved 20 Euro VI trucks running on biomethane produced via anaerobic digestion. The vehicles collectively covered around 1.4 million miles, saving Read more…

The European Investment Bank will stop funding unabated fossil fuels from the end of 2021 and prioritise energy efficiency – a year later than planned. The deal represents a compromise. The EIB had hoped to stop funding fossil projects by the end of 2020. The bank reviewed its energy policy earlier this year but had Read more…

Net zero emissions can be achieved, says EnergyPro’s Steve Fawkes, but requires one crucial attribute. Net zero as a target is very clear – net zero carbon emissions by 2050.  The old adage about setting targets comes to mind, is it SMART i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable (or sometimes quoted as Agreed upon), Realistic and Time Read more…

Birmingham Airport has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2033. The airport said it aims to minimise offsets and maximise on-site renewable generation, though CEO Nick Barton admitted he does not yet “have all the answers”. “Technology is changing at some pace and the movement to a net zero economy Read more…

Horsham-based Ceres Power claims its latest fuel cell enables zero emissions combined heat and power (CHP). The system is designed for use with hydrogen fuel. In testing, the company claimed its prototype has achieved greater than 50 per cent electrical efficiency, with an overall efficiency of 90 per cent in combined heat and power mode. Read more…

Statera has signed a deal with MAN for the 300MW of fast ramping gas peaking plant that it claims are as efficient as some of the UK’s large gas-fired power stations – and more efficient for short run operations. The company thinks their flexibility represent a better bet than combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) and Read more…

Tesco is to buy power from five new onshore wind farms and a solar farm and has announced plans for a significant ramp-up of onsite PV. The retailer will buy from the generators via power purchase agreements for output directly from onshore wind farms including EDF’s Burnfoot East, BayWare’s Inverclyde and Scottish Power’s Halsary schemes. Read more…