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
Stalin, eco warriors, and the truth about smart meters
When I decided to write about smart meters, I thought it would be fairly straightforward…explain what they are, why they are being introduced, what are the costs and benefits etc. What I have discovered is that the world is [...]
Driving storage innovation
Domestic solar + electricity storage has for some time been seen as a potentially disruptive combination for electricity systems. Add in electric cars and use of recycled EV batteries in those storage systems, and the story becomes even more [...]
Igniting Change: combatting inertia in the energy sector
This week saw the launch of the Igniting Change 2 report commissioned by Powerful Women, an organisation committed to improved gender balance within the energy industry. The study, undertaken by PwC, found that of the 89 top UK-headquartered energy companies, [...]
Keeping the lights on
Last week the Daily Telegraph reported that Sainsbury’s, the second largest supermarket in the UK, has built a series of gas-fired generators due to its concerns over security of supply. The article quotes Paul Crewe, head of sustainability at [...]
Unintended consequences
In my last post I wrote about the nature of innovation and the challenges of delivering commercially successful innovations even when a clear need has been identified. In the energy sector those clear needs to innovate can be found [...]
“Innovate or Die!”
I was recently asked to give a presentation on how innovation can be harnessed to boost productivity and competitiveness. This is an interesting question, particularly coming as I do from an industry that is in a period of rapid [...]
The changing face of the energy mix
In my previous post I wrote about the basic design of the gas and electricity systems and the importance of balancing supply and demand in real time, and how de-carbonisation is posing challenges for maintaining this balance in the [...]
You can’t squash electricity!
Over the past few years I have given a number of talks to students about careers in the energy sector, and it always strikes me how little people outside the industry know about the mechanics of our gas and electricity [...]
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