Featured Posts
The energy white paper fails to deliver a detailed plan for net zero
December saw the publication of the long-awaited energy white paper, which built on Boris Johnson’s 10-point energy plan. In [...]
FES-2020 costs indicate massive investment needed for net-zero
Last week, National Grid ESO published the first costings for its Future Energy Scenarios (“FES”). The key conclusions of [...]
Boris Johnson’s 10-point energy plan: a mixed bag
Despite being forced to self-isolate having come into contact with a covid-positive MP, Boris Johnson has finally unveiled his [...]
Recent Posts
NG ESO sees tighter capacity margins next winter
Yesterday, National grid ESO published a preliminary Winter Outlook for next winter (2021/22), deciding to come out with an early view following last winter’s market tightness, which I discussed in a series of posts last month: With tight margins [...]
The Maths of Net Zero: ensuring a smooth & fair transition
Yesterday I had the pleasure of addressing the All Party Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies (and was delighted to be confirmed as the newest member of the PGES Executive Council). Along with Richard Norris from Pandreco and Mike Lakin [...]
The G7 makes little progress towards coal phase-out
Shortly after I published my post on the use of coal on the GB electricity system in Winter 2020, there was excitment after the G7 nations (United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan) announced they would end [...]
What have we learned since the launch of the UK ETS?
Last month saw the launch of the UK Emissions Trading System (“UK ETS”), which replaces the EU equivalent which the country left at the beginning of the year with the implementation of Brexit. The first auctions on ICE took [...]
Falling nuclear capacity adds to winter worries
Low nuclear availability added to the capacity issues in the GB market over the past winter, and as the fleet ages and new nuclear is further delayed, these problems are set to become more acute. Since the first commercial [...]
Despite its impending exit coal power was still important last winter
Over the last couple of years, Britain’s ongoing reliance on coal has been the subject of a few of my posts. Despite the “coal-free” days hype in the summer, the continued use of coal in winter goes unremarked. But [...]
With tight margins and high prices, was Winter 2020 a sign of things to come?
Winter 2020 was a bumpy ride in the GB electricity market. Electricity Margin Notices ("EMN") (the new name for a “NISM” – Notice of Insufficient System Margin) were issued six times, there were two Capacity Market Notices ("CMN") (following [...]
Should electricity markets be more local?
While working on my new training offering, I have been reading about the very earliest days of electricity and reflecting on how some of the early trends of local electricity markets and de-centralisation are experiencing a renaissance. The 19th [...]
Per Ardua ad Astra
Today is the 5th anniversary of my blog, and, in common with may of my readers, the past year has presented significant and unexpected challenges. And in common with a great many people, I suffered health problems last year [...]
New report shows challenges with de-carbonising home heating
Today Citizens Advice has published a report, Home Truths, into consumer experiences with home heating approaches including low carbon technologies and new insulation. The report draws on the calls made over the past three years to its Consumer Service [...]
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