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
Energy retail increasingly challenging for smaller suppliers
The energy retail sector has once again been in the news with the big energy companies raising prices - British Gas announced an average 5.5% increase, followed by EDF with a more modest 1.4% rise. Both companies linked the price [...]
Battery storage business models emerge against a changing regulatory backdrop
2017 saw 200MW of new battery storage projects coming online in Britain. As the market develops, various business models are emerging, however project sponsors face challenges in developing these models against a backdrop of a changing regulatory landscape that [...]
The digitisation of energy: another dimension to the energy transition
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 [...]
E.On/RWE deal: re-shaping the energy industry
On 11 March, E.On announced it had reached agreement to acquire RWE’s 76.8% stake in Innogy SE through a share swap that would grant RWE a 16.67% share in E.On SE which would be issued by way of a [...]
Recent gas price spikes increase risks for small suppliers
After a few quiet years, the gas markets are going through some interesting times. Although the global supply glut continues, with tightening not expected until the 2020s, short-run supply and demand fluctuations are causing significant gas price spikes. According to [...]
RIIO-2: Ofgem consults on tougher price controls for networks
Last week Ofgem has published its consultation for the next round of price controls for energy networks, known as RIIO-2. RIIO-1 had been strongly criticised for allowing network companies to generate above average levels of returns on businesses that are [...]
Political dispute in the Balkans causes electricity system frequency deviation across Europe
I have written several times about the challenges facing system operators as the energy transition sees increasing amounts of intermittent generation increasing frequency variation. However, between mid-January and early March, there was a persistent frequency deviation that caused clocks [...]
The rise of the corporate PPA
Power Purchase Agreements (or “PPAs”) have been around for a long time, as agreements between market participants for the offtake of electricity from generating facilities. However, the past few years have seen the rise of the so-called “Corporate PPA” [...]
National Grid issues gas deficit warning as cold weather bites
As the UK shivers under attack from the “Beast from the East” – this morning National Grid issued a Gas Deficit Warning, indicating that the gas system was almost 48 million cubic metres (“mcm”) short relative to forecast demand. [...]
Responding to the challenges of transmission system transformation
Last week, National Grid outlined its plans for it system operator business, following the decision by Ofgem last year that greater separation of this activity was needed from the rest of the National Grid business in order to better [...]
Recent Comments