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SSE has committed £100 million to develop plans for its Coire Glas pumped hydro storage scheme, despite lack of certainty from government over a long-term funding mechanism. The £100 million will be used to fund the next phase of detailed design and refinement, with construction procurement due to progress throughout the year.
2 years ago
Onshore wind developers will be extremely reluctant to consider any investment in England unless the government goes further on its commitment to ease planning rules for the sector, Energy UK (EUK) has warned. The energy umbrella body says proposed changes do "not go far enough to provide the step change required to unlock the opportunities for onshore wind in England".
Increasing capital costs associated with renewable energy projects risks making some schemes financially unviable. The warning comes following the announcement that the government has set a budget of £205 million for the first annual Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round.
As part of his Budget announcement, chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed that he has asked Ofgem to draw up regulatory options for permanently ending the standing charge premium paid by prepayment meter customers. Other Budget announcements included the launch of the government’s Great British Nuclear agency and £20bn in funding for CCUS projects.
The government is to end the “prepayment premium” by picking up the additional costs of the meters from suppliers. Also in Utility Week’s latest round-up of the weekend papers, Ofwat seeks new powers to block excessive dividends to shareholders and Thames Water appoints financial advisors to help tackle its mountain of debt.
EDF has confirmed that it will extend the lives of Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations by an additional two years. The two nuclear power stations in the north of England both marked 40 years of generation this year. They will now continue generating power until March 2026.
Labour would have to immediately focus on achieving its stated goal of decarbonising electricity generation by 2030 if it forms the next government, the chief executive Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said. Stark added that the current government will fall “well short” of its objective to decarbonise the power sector by 2035 if it fails to up its pace on the issue.
The electricity system’s future design must account for the risk that climate change will result in longer wind droughts, increasing the need for more back up gas and hydrogen generation, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned.
Floating offshore wind power offers potentially the ‘single biggest investment opportunity’ for Wales in ‘decades’ but the government must give the fledgling sector greater certainty, according to a cross-party group of MPs.
National Grid has rolled out “anti-leak” technology at Sizewell and Dinorwig while keeping the substations in service. The technology has been developed in partnership with engineering technology company Rawwater to fix leaks of greenhouse gas SF6 while keeping substations safely in service.
In our latest review of sector coverage in the national media, leaked documents show increasing concern over the lack of progress on net zero. Meanwhile, United Utilities will appear before the Supreme Court in a landmark case where it will argue it should not be held liable by private landowners and individuals for sewage spills. And Shell’s new chief executive has said America is now significantly more attractive than Britain for energy investment.
Plans for the world’s largest offshore windfarm are at risk of being shelved without government support. Duncan Clark, head of Ørsted UK & Ireland, called on the government to announce subsidies in the upcoming Budget to help renewable energy project developers mitigate rising construction costs.
