Generation

Scotland misses emissions target despite energy progress

A rise in overall emissions in Scotland in 2021 meant the country missed its government’s greenhouse gas target, according to new official statistics. That is despite a large emissions reduction in energy, which was down by 0.5MtCO2e.

MPs question credibility of low carbon generation goals

A heavyweight committee of MPs has expressed scepticism about the credibility of government plans for expanding low carbon generation. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has warned that the lack of an overarching delivery plan jeopardises government’s challenging ambition to decarbonise the power sector by 2035.

Starmer pledges overhaul of CfDs

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to set new rules for Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions as part of plans for an incoming Labour government to “throw everything” at decarbonising the UK’s power system by 2030. As part of Labour’s "national mission" on clean energy, Starmer said the party would link access to public investment and subsidies, such as those on offer for low carbon energy projects via CfD auctions, to factors like job quality, wages, and access to trade unions.

Weekend press round-up: Householders to receive money off bills for going green under Labour plans

UK can’t match US green subsidies, Anderson warns

The UK cannot hope to match the US with subsidies to lure green energy investors but can make itself more attractive by offering slicker processes, Keith Anderson has said. The Scottish Power CEO responded to widely held concerns that the tax breaks and subsidies on offer in the US government’s Inflation Reduction Act will lead to the UK missing out on renewables investment.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme could constrain clean heat market

Time for a national strategy on household energy flexibility

Miliband: Lifting onshore wind ban a Labour priority

ESO ‘still in talks’ with Drax about coal units returning for winter

UK must plan for hotter summers without coal

National Grid proposes ‘radical’ new approach to connections

Octopus calls for extended DFS to end coal use

Octopus Energy has called for customer flexibility to be a permanent solution for balancing the energy system and an end to the reliance on back-up coal generators. It comes after Uniper was instructed to fire up two back-up coal-fired power units this week to cope with additional electricity demand during the ongoing heatwave. Octopus claims that making the service available to all 17.3 million UK homes with smart meters would be enough to entirely replace coal as a back-up source of power.

EDF secures funding for space-based solar study

EDF will lead a study exploring the value of introducing space-based solar power into the UK’s grid. It is one of eight projects to win government funding to develop space-based solar initiatives. Other winning projects include Cambridge University, who will develop ultra-lightweight solar panels to be connected to satellites that can function in the high-radiation conditions of space, and Queen Mary University in London, who are working on a wireless system to enable the solar power collected in space to be transferred to earth.

Capacity market penalty hike put on back burner

The introduction of stiffer penalties for companies which fail to honour their capacity market (CM) obligations will be pushed back beyond next year’s auction, the government has revealed. The government has previously proposed fining companies a quarter of the £/MW hour clearing price if they fail to meet their CM obligations when called on at times of system stress.

UK’s offshore wind pipeline nears 100GW