When people speak about the “energy transition” they mean de-carbonisation and its associated changes, however another fundamental change in the market is taking place at the same time: the digitisation of energy. Technology is enabling more and more devices to be networked, allowing people different ways of controlling and managing both their environments and their…
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A year ago I set out my key themes for 2017, and as predictions go it was definitely a mixed bag! In this post I review the key themes of 2017 and look forward to the current year. What didn’t really happen in 2017… # Creation of an Independent System Operator In January, Ofgem…
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Back in April, the press was full of the news that a new Icelandic energy project could revive the prospects of IceLink, the Iceland – UK interconnector project. This week has seen progress in another energy project which may also be of international interest. Unique energy position Iceland is unique in its energy position…
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Last week the Government published its long awaited Clean Growth Strategy, described by the Telegraph as the coming of age of the green agenda. Clean growth is defined in the document as growing the UK’s national income while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which are expressed in terms of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent….
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Last week saw the news that National Grid has successfully trialled a method of measuring the inertia of the electricity system in real time. This may seem like a technical curiosity, but it has major implications for system management. What is inertia…… Electrical inertia is the property of the system which opposes changes in…
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Existing power grids were designed to transmit electricity over relatively short distances, however, increasingly grids are required to supply major cities from remote offshore wind farms at the same time as integrating local generation. With generators feeding variable amounts of energy from renewable sources into the grid at all voltage levels, it is more difficult…
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The first sections of the new electricity interconnector between the UK and Belgium were installed this month with the laying of the first 59km section of the Nemo Link, a joint venture between the UK’s National Grid and Belgium’s Elia System Operator, between the UK onshore landing point and the French offshore section. On 11…
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Last month, Dutch research institute, NRG, re-ignited interest in thorium nuclear projects by announcing a new investigation into the use of thorium reactors in collaboration with the EU. The Salt Irradiation Experiment (“Salient”), based at the High Flux Reactor in Petten, will begin with experiments to melt thorium fuel and then bombard it with neutrons to…
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Today I came across a fascinating piece of research which has the potential to be a real game-changer – an international research team led by scientists at The University of Texas and Hanyang University in South Korea has developed high-tech yarns that generate electricity when they are stretched or twisted. In their study, published in…
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The recent entry of Tesla into the PV market has generated renewed interest in building-integrated solar PV – a technology which allows the structure of buildings, walls and windows as well as roofs – to generate electricity thereby reducing the net load of the building. New developments go well beyond simple installation of rooftop solar…
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