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
Tesla’s giant electricity storage project is unlikely to solve South Australia’s grid problems
I recently wrote about the challenges faced by South Australia as it struggles to adjust to a renewables-heavy grid. I described the issues arising from the closure of large sources of inertia, noting that the technologies required to manage [...]
National Grid consults on ancillary services reform: will the changes go far enough?
The UK electricity system was designed to transport electricity produced in a relatively cheap and predictable way from centralised power stations, to users whose patterns of consumption are similarly stable and predictable. Variations around these patterns of production and [...]
US shale gas enters the GB energy mix
On Saturday the LNG carrier Maran Gas Mystras docked at National Grid's Isle of Grain facility bringing with it the UK's first cargo of US LNG since a small cargo that arrived at the Canvey Island terminal in 1964. [...]
The economics of embedded generation set to change but consumers are unlikely to benefit
The market has been waiting with bated breath for Ofgem’s decision on its proposed changes to the embedded benefit regime, since its statement in March that it was “minded to” implement a change to the CUSC that would limit the [...]
The political pressures driving new nuclear
This week has seen two significant prices of news relating to the new nuclear reactor being constructed at Hinkley Point in Somerset. Firstly, the French nuclear regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (“ASN”), has made a preliminary decision relating [...]
Sale of Centrica power stations indicates recovering CCGT economics
Last week was a busy week for Centrica. In addition to announcing the closure of its Rough gas storage facility, it also announced the sale of its two remaining CCGTs, confirming its transformation into a services-oriented company and the [...]
What does the closure of Rough storage mean?
On Tuesday, Centrica announced the permanent closure of Rough, its large seasonal gas storage facility. This is the UK’s only long-term gas storage asset, with a capacity equivalent to about 10% of winter peak demand and 70% of the [...]
The writing is on the wall for coal generation
The UK broke new ground on Friday 21 April 2017 seeing the first continuous 24-hour period since the industrial revolution when coal made no contribution to the power sector. The country which led the way in the introduction of coal [...]
The Californian electricity market is also straining under the weight of renewables
I wrote recently about the challenges being faced in Australia as a result of the rapid deployment of renewable generation. Similar problems are being seen in the Californian electricity market where progress against ambitious renewable generation targets has led [...]
Smart meter problems keep growing: time for a re-think
As the dust settles (or not) after the General Election, the wider impact on the energy sector is unclear, however one initiative continues on despite increasing calls for a re-think: smart meters. I have previously written about the technological [...]
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