Two minute briefing on energy stories to start the week:
- Britain’s biggest solar farm, Hive Energy and Wirsol Energy’s £450m Cleve Hill project on 890 acres of North Kent, awaits energy secretary of state Alok Sharma’s decision this week. Its 300MW potential plus co-located storage requires the minister’s sign-off under National Infrastructure Planning. Objections have come from Greenpeace and 3,000 petition signatories.
- Grid output was the cleanest ever over the weekend. Average carbon concentration of 61g CO2/kWh across Saturday 23 undershot the 76 CO2/kWh recorded on 17 August 2019, according to Drax.
- Business energy suppliers are feeling the pressure as customers miss payments during as their businesses are shutdown. Big power retailers want government support.
- A failed legal challenge last week means Drax is closer to building its 3.6GW gas-fired power plant, Europe’s biggest. The High Court rejected claims that the government had unlawfully approved the bid.
- The ‘Humber Zero’ development, claimed as the world’s biggest cluster of low carbon power sources, is taking shape. Energy firms Uniper, Total, Phillips66 and Vitol last week signed an agreement to build hydrogen manufacturing and CCS facilities.
- Britain’s first plant producing jet fuel from commercial waste has been approved by planners covering Immingham, on Humberside. Start-up Velocys will provide core technology to partners Shell and British Airways. Clean ‘avgas’ is scheduled to flow by 2025.
