Limejump’s ‘virtual power plant’ (VPP), has gone live on the Balancing Mechanism (BM) market – the first time an aggregated unit has been admitted to the balancing market. Previously, the BM has largely been the domain of large power plants and specific…
Author Archive for New Power
Should the ‘market making’ obligation be suspended?
by New Power • • Comments Off
Ofgem wants industry views on whether to suspend the obligation on major energy companies to ‘market make’ – ie guarantee to offer prices to companies seeking to buy or sell power in the marketplace. Ofgem had already begin to review…
Gas pipeline break could cause industrial shutdowns and gas price shocks – but should consumers pay for a replacement? Ofgem asks for views
by New Power • • 1 Comment
What’s the biggest risk to the UK’s gas supply? Arguments abound: over whether exposure to the diversity of a global LNG market is more resilient than when we relied on our own continental shelf; over how Brexit will affect imports…
Capacity Market could be open to unsubsidised renewables next year
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How can unsubsidised renewables and hybrid projects be included in the Capacity Market (CM)? A new consultation from BEIS seeks ways to achieve that aim in time to include them in the CM auction at the end of 2019. The change…
OPINION: Do we need to redefine the social contract between utilities and consumers?
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Karma Loveday says trust and confidence are necessary for all public-private utilities and asks whether the current relationship can be repaired Utilities, because of their public-private nature, are highly visible to political and media scrutiny. Since privatisation in England and…
Thrive signs supply deal with neighbour Bristol Energy
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Thrive Energy is to provide 0.8MW of renewable wind power to Bristol Energy, the two Bristol-based companies have announced today. The deal follows a similar agreement for hydropower in winter 2017. Bristol Energy has purchased the renewable electricity produced by Thrive’s Clayfords single-turbine wind site near Strichen…
Price cap revision allows suppliers to raise prices by £47
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Ofgem has raised the price cap by £47/year for dual fuel customers, saying that wholesale gas and electricity costs have risen since the level was last updated in February. “This is mostly due to the global rise in oil prices feeding…
Solar investment fund raises portfolio to 691MW
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Next Energy Solar Fund has acquired two portfolios of operating rooftop solar consisting of 282 assets, an overall installed capacity of 1.15MW. The first portfolio consists of 63 rooftop solar assets, seven of which are commercial and the remaining residential.…
Centrica picks up stake in EV fleet management platform
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Centrica Innovations has announced a major investment in Driivz, an Israeli company offering end-to-end software solutions for electric vehicle (EV) charging. Centrica Innovations is integrating the Driivz platform into a new intelligent EV charging service offer for businesses from Centrica Electric…
Equitix takes on more renewables assets
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UK infrastructure investor Equitix is to acquire a portfolio of social infrastructure and renewable assets from NIBC Infrastructure Partners. The portfolio includes 13 assets in the UK and Europe and, subject to closing conditions, will be acquired in a single transaction.…