Featured Posts
Time to accept that wind farm costs are not falling
There has been a consistent narrative that the cost of building new wind farms is falling, with falling subsidy [...]
Windfall tax harms oil and gas production and must be cut
In May last year, the UK Government introduced a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies [...]
Why Norway’s views on energy security should ring alarm bells across Europe
Norway's energy security would appear to be a done deal, yet the past couple of years have been very [...]
Addressing the high real cost of renewable generation
Over the past few months we have been inundated with claims from interested parties that more renewables are the [...]
Recent Posts
UK Power Networks trials solar + storage virtual power plant in London
Distribution Network Operator UK Power Networks (“UKPN”), which covers over eight million homes and businesses across London, the South East and East of England, has announced a virtual power plant (“VPP”) to be developed in London, to relieve pressure [...]
First EPR achieves grid connection but a long road ahead for Hinkley Point C
Last week the world’s first European Pressurised Water Reactor (“EPR”) came online at Taishan in China, 18 years after the first planned EPR at Olkiluoto in Finland made its first licence application. Construction on the third generation nuclear plant [...]
Swansea Bay tidal scheme officially rejected by the Government
Yesterday came the long-awaited decision as to whether the UK Government would offer any support or subsidy to the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon scheme. There has been widespread criticism of the decision (see #SwanseaBay on twitter) with many people [...]
Win for Ofgem: application for juducial review into embedded benefits decision rejected
On Friday, Mr Justice Lavender handed down his Judgement on the application by a number of small electricity generators for a judicial review into Ofgem’s decision last year to limit the amount of so-called "embedded benefits" available to such [...]
Developing local flexibility markets
In recent weeks, much has been made of the fact that coal has dropped out of the merit order for days at a time. While much of the commentary is around trying to prove that the system can run [...]
The first SMETS2 smart meters finally arrive but doubts over the programme remain
With the deadline for smart meter installation just 30 months away, more than 11 million smart meters had been fitted in domestic properties by the end of March 2018 against a target of over 50 million – in order [...]
Price rises by energy suppliers will not be remedied by the price cap
The Big 6 energy suppliers have all raised the prices of their standard variable tariffs recently. E.On kicked off with a 2.7% increase, followed by EDF Energy with 1.4%, npower with 5.3%, Scottish Power and British Gas both with [...]
New power projects in Wales: Government expected to approve new nuclear but reject tidal lagoon
Nuclear power is back in the news in the UK, with reports that the Government is provide support to the new nuclear plant being developed at Wylfa Newydd in Angelsey, Wales by Horizon Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of Hitachi. [...]
A possible OPEC production increase triggers fall in oil prices
A couple of weeks ago Donald Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran, and I wrote that this added to the bullish trend in oil prices. Since then oil prices have fallen from their [...]
De-carbonising everything: is CCU the answer?
I have bemoaned in previous posts the dependence of de-carbonisation goals on carbon capture and storage (“CCS”), a process that has yet to demonstrate commercial viability, other than in the context of enhanced oil recovery, which is hardly supportive [...]
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