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…
Longread
Analysis, interviews, thought leadership
INTERVIEW: Sarah Merrick, Ripple Energy
by New Power • • Comments Off
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…
Gwynt y Mor OFTO reveals battle to insure offshore wind cables: 40% premium hike and scores of providers decline
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Concern over outages in cables connecting the UK’s offshore wind farms to the onshore network have been laid bare by the company that owns the link to Gwynt y Môr wind farm, which argues that a series of repair outages…
INTERVIEW: Monika Paplaczyk, investment director, Thrive Renewables
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Janet Wood talked to Thrive Renewables investment director Monika Paplaczyk about the barriers and opportunities in investing behind the meter in storage and generation and the company’s move into battery storage Thrive Renewables’s aim is to help individuals and businesses…
INTERVIEW: Nicola Pitts, INA
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Independent network operators provide a large proportion of utility connections for new buildings, and in some cases operate those networks under licence. That puts them at the sharp end of delivering both our net zero ambition and other needs such…
CCC calls for economy-wide Net Zero test; power sector needs action on gas generation and energy from waste
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Two parts of the electricity generation sector were in the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC’s) firing line when it published its annual report to parliament. Among ‘specific key gaps that need to be addressed by government policy’ the CCC called for…
INTERVIEW: Amanda Brock, OpenUK, on how Open Source is moving into energy
by New Power • • Comments Off
How many energy companies have a policy against the use of so-called ‘Open source’ software in their activities? Amanda Brock, chief executive of OpenUK, says it’s a common prohibition – but she suspects that a closer look will reveal that…