The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the NS&I Act) will establish a new regime for government approval of transactions that may give rise to a risk to national security when it comes into effect on 4 January. Conrad Purcell,…
Longread
Analysis, interviews, thought leadership
Towards 2032: costs rise to maintain aging gas transmission network
by New Power • • Comments Off
Great Britain’s available gas supplies, in aggregate, are greater than peak demand over the next ten years. But the diversity of the future gas supply mix makes it “both unpredictable and uncertain”, according to National Grid Gas (NGG), the system…
Towards 2032: NGESO details electricity system reinforcement needs
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In the next decade Great Britain’s electricity network requires major expansion to meet Net Zero investments, according to the system operator’s regular ‘Electricity Ten Year Statement’ (ETYS), which considers where investment or reinforcement is needed to ensure the grid remains…
From 20GW undersupply to 30GW oversupply: NGESO’s winter 2035 modelling shows urgent need for new power market design
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By 2035 there will be periods when lack of wind and solar generation is low and electricity supply falls dramatically short of demand. But those times are far outweighed by periods when the GB system has a large excess of…
INTERVIEW: Robert Ogden, chief executive, Renewable Exchange, on trading costs and the importance of machine-readable data
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In September, community energy company Egni Co-op caused a stir when it actioned new power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 25 solar farms simultaneously, using Renewable Exchange’s online platform. In October, PPAs for 157MW of renewable power were successfully executed through…
INTERVIEW: Elexon’s Peter Stanley on opening up the settlements process ‘black box’
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The GB settlement process is a hard-wired ‘black box’, mostly invisible to participants, dating back to the start of the competitive industry. But October should see the beginnings of an open flexible approach that allows new participants access to much…
INTERVIEW: Sarah Merrick, Ripple Energy
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This week Ripple’s chief executive Sarah Merrick became the Business Green Leaders Award ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’. In April 2019 she spoke to Janet Wood about how to give consumers a small stake in a large wind farm. Will a…
Opinion: A tidal wave of EVs will drive the flexibility market
by New Power • • 1 Comment
James Johnston, chief executive and co-founder of Piclo, looks forward to the system benefits of electric vehicles The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is finally upon us. EVs are now a common sight throughout the UK and this is reflected in…
Climate change: the race is on, and clean energy investment is ramping up
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Kay Hobbs, partner at UK law firm TLT, says the finance sector is stepping up to invest in green energy The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made for grim reading. It declared that climate change…
INTERVIEW: Aggreko’s Carsten Reincke-Collon on hydrogen options for short-term power needs
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Responding to the government’s Hydrogen Strategy, launched in August, temporary utilities equipment specialist Aggreko highlighted its investment in hydrogen-for-power options, including hydrogen gensets and a hydrogen cell integrated with battery storage. Janet Wood spoke to Carsten Reincke-Collon, Aggreko’s director of…