Featured Posts
Gas market tightness causing prices to surge and questions over security of supply
Gas market tightness has caused prices to rise sharply over the past few weeks, not only pushing electricity prices [...]
Circling the drain: the prospect of bailouts in the energy sector
Today the Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has raised the prospect of nationalising parts of the electricity industry. Of course, [...]
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 [...]
Recent Posts
Getting building energy performance right is essential for net zero – part I
Buildings are the second largest contributor to UK emissions at just under 20% of the total. There are two elements to the energy performance of buildings: energy is used in the running of the building, primarily heating and lighting, [...]
Is geothermal energy the next hot topic?
The use of hot springs has been known since antiquity and there is evidence that Native Americans used geothermal energy for cooking as early as 10,000 years ago, yet despite this, by the end of 2019, there was only [...]
Brexit effect de-coupling the energy market
On 1 January 2021, the UK left the EU's internal energy market (“IEM”), meaning that trading over the interconnectors between GB and the EU us no longer be managed through market coupling (except for Northern Ireland which remains part [...]
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 170 pages, the white paper describes in high level terms how the Government plans to achieve its 2050 net zero [...]
A-Z of 2020: a year to forget
Looking back over the year, I would normally write about the interesting developments in the energy markets, and what might be expected in the coming year (and indeed, I will be writing something along those lines in the next [...]
A Christmas message
2020 has been a strange, horrible year, but one in which many of us have explored new ways of digital working. In that spirit, here is my slightly different Christmas blog (with thanks to my family for their artistic [...]
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 its analysis are: The cost difference between the four scenarios is just 7% The total cost of each scenario over [...]
The strange, unfamiliar world of FES-2020
In July 2020, National Grid published its 2020 Future Energy Scenarios (“FES-2020”), its annual update on the four scenarios describing what it sees as the “credible pathways for the future of energy over the next thirty years.” They are [...]
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 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution”. With his familiar flamboyance, he describes a new utopia full of clean air [...]
Space-based solar power: an exciting idea or pie in the sky?
This weekend the press became very excited by an announcement from the UK Government that it is commissioning new research into space-based solar power (“SBSP”) systems that would use satellites to collect solar energy and convert it into a [...]
Recent Comments