The beginnings of work on RIIO 2 have rightly become the focus for some much-needed discussion about how the UK can decarbonise its heat industry – which for the majority of domestic customers means gas piped to the property.…
Author Archive for New Power
Energy asset owners with 50kW of capacity: register by 12 March to join UKPN’s flexibility market
by New Power • • Comments Off
UK Power Networks is committing £12 million in funding across 28 locations in southeast and east England to start a new market for energy resources to sell flexibility services to network operators and lower costs to customers. The company will…
Ofgem rejects plan to collect Capacity Market payments during hiatus
by New Power • • Comments Off
Ofgem has rejected a modification to the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) under which the Capacity Market ‘supplier charge’ would be collected from customers on an interim basis, and held for potential distribution to CM contract holders, saying it does…
Centrica invests in home energy management startups
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Centrica has invested in two start-ups that it hopes will help develop new customer propositions that will also support the flexibility of the grid. It says the co-location of domestic battery storage alongside today’s solar installations alone could enable over…
Not a watchdog
by New Power • • Comments Off
Calling your company ‘Energy Watchdog’ does not make you a consumer champion, the Advertising Standards Authority has told a company of that name, upholding a complaint about its advertising. It said that consumers visiting the company’s website, which describes renewable energy…
Kent council plans solar PV investment
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Ashford Borough Council in Kent wants to build and run its own solar farm. Following advice from the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) the proposal is for a 9MWp project on a 50 acre site purchased by the council in…
Has utility regulation failed? National Infrastructure Commission calls for evidence
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The National Infrastructure Commission has launched a Call for Evidence on regulation. In a consultation closing on 12 April it asks where economic regulation of energy, water or telecoms has systematically failed or succeeded in facilitating future investment needs; promoting competition and…
Shell acquires Sonnen smart energy business
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Shell is to acquire 100% of Sonnen, a manufacturer of smart residential storage systems, following an initial investment in May last year. Started up in Germany, Sonnen now also has locations in the UK Italy, Australia and the USA. Sonnen…
From the archive: can the gas be used to aid decarbonisation? Some projects investigated
by New Power • • Comments Off
Despite the carbon cost, use of the gas network is expanding. Proponents argue that it can be a low carbon bridge. In the September 2017 issue of New Power Report Janet Wood took a look at some projects Efforts to decarbonise the…
From the archive: how can we decarbonise heat?
by New Power • • 1 Comment
If the UK has made good progress in decarbonising the electricity system, the same cannot be said for heat. It is a bigger challenge and has been harder to tackle, but it is in the sights of the new Energy…