As small-scale generators prepare for potentially big changes in their revenue from so-called ‘embedded benefits’, industrial and commercial customers who use backup generation to help provide demand response are also facing a financial challenge. Scottish Power has proposed tightening the…
Author Archive for New Power
Lords committee: hold competitive auctions for power generation capacity and make security of supply the priority
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“Security of supply should be the first and most important consideration in energy policy,” the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee says in its new report The Price of Power: Reforming the Electricity Market. The committee says “Intervention by successive governments…
Fossil generators’ system stability role could be fulfilled by renewables, says UKERC report
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The ‘inertia’ that fossil fuel plants provide to the electricity system, which keeps the system in stable operation and allows it to ‘ride through’ disturbances, can largely be replicated by very fast response frequency control systems and synthetic inertia, according…
Endurance turbine owners offered reassurance on spares and service after company goes into administration
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Four authorised service providers for wind turbine manufacturer Endurance, which went into administration in December following the collapse of its Canadian parent company, have joined forces provide spare parts for owners. The four businesses, which between them manage over 76%…
Local authorities must be aware of ongoing cost of electric vehicle charge points, warns InstaVolt chief
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Councils who bid for government grants to install electric vehicle charging points must be aware of the ‘sting in the tail’ of ongoing management costs, warns InstaVolt chief executive Tim Payne. In a wide ranging interview on electric vehicles with…
Moyle interconnector at half power after subsea fault
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The Moyle Interconnector, the 500MW electrical link between Northern Ireland and Scotland, is operating at a reduced capacity of 250MW. The fault occurred on Saturday 18 February when one cable tripped. Initial investigation has indicated that there is a cable…
OPINION: Please come back bankers, all is forgiven – we need wholesale market liquidity
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Dominic Whittome, consultant and ex-energy trader, regrets the loss of banks and other third parties from commodities and power trading In November the Financial Times reported that Barclays was winding down its energy – largely oil and gas – trading business,…
Horizon builds team to deliver new nuclear at Wylfa
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Horizon Nuclear Power has called on US nuclear utility Exelon to provide expertise as it develops its plans to build a new nuclear plant, Wylfa Nywedd, in Wales. Horizon is planning to apply for a site licence for the project.…
Toshiba delays results to investigate ‘inappropriate pressure’ over nuclear deal
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Toshiba, parent of the company planning to build a new nuclear plant at Moorside in Cumbria, has announced a $6.3 billion write-down for its US nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse. Reuters said that would “wipe out its shareholder equity and will drag…
Ovo acquires smart energy management company Vcharge
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OVO has acquired US energy technology company Vcharge. The US company’s technology uses algorithms to balance grid requirements with individual user requirements. The first application of the pioneering technology controls electric storage heating in social housing to better manage resident…