The chair of the Commons Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change (ECCC) has written to secretary of state Amber Rudd to raise concerns about the delays in taking a Final Investment Decision on a new nuclear plant at Hinkley…
Flash update
Tidal power firm Atlantis returns seabed leases to The Crown Estate
by Annabel Andrews • • Comments Off
Tidal power firm Atlantis Resources has returned its ‘Agreements for Lease’ (AFLs) for the Anglesey Skerries site in Wales and the Kyle Rhea site in Scotland to The Crown Estate. Atlantis Resources said it decided to hand back the AFLs after an…
Nuclear regulator complains of delays and quality concerns as progress slows on Cumbria reactor plans
by New Power • • Comments Off
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) held a crunch meeting in January with senior management at Westinghouse, the company behind the nuclear reactor planned for Moorside in Cumbria, to address “delays and quality concerns” in its submissions to the reactor…
Budget: CfD allocation £290m this year, £730m in this parliament; renewables hit again on CCL; Ofgem changes
by New Power • • Comments Off
The budget for Contract for Difference auctions over the course of this parliament will be “up to” £730 million, chancellor George Osborne announced in today’s budget. That would support up to 4GW of offshore wind and other less established renewables,…
Liverpool City Council looks to partner with existing supplier for local energy company
by Annabel Andrews • • Comments Off
Liverpool City Council is looking to follow in Bristol City Council’s footsteps and set up its own energy company. Elected mayor Joe Anderson will ask the city’s council to approve proposals to explore ways of establishing the company – provisionally…
CNG Fuels and National Grid unveil first high-pressure grid-connected CNG filling station
by Annabel Andrews • • Comments Off
CNG Fuels, in partnership with National Grid, unveiled a new filling station in Leyland, Lancashire today, which allows vehicles to fill up on compressed natural gas (CNG), directly from the high-pressure local transmission system. The new facility can refuel more…
Only 34 per cent of consumers trust energy suppliers, according to Which?
by Annabel Andrews • • Comments Off
Only 34 per cent of consumers trust gas and electricity suppliers, and 31 per cent actively distrust energy suppliers, according to Which?’s latest consumer insight tracker. Some 63% of people are worried about energy prices Which? is calling on the Competition and…
Capacity Market reform promises emergency auction for 2017/18, plus action on dirty diesels and non-delivery
by New Power • • Comments Off
An emergency Capacity Market auction will be held in January for delivery in winter 2017/18, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said in a consultation on changes to the CM intended to improve security of supply and bring…
New auto-switch services launch: will they change the game for energy customers?
by New Power • • 4 Comments
Fine ambitions on increasing customer switching run into one problem: it’s a tedious business, and one that can leave you uncertain, on switching sites, whether you really have got a better deal. Janet Wood spoke to Flipper and Swuto, both hoping to take the pressure off domestic consumers – and EnergyConnect which is hoping to get small businesses more active.
UK “must try harder” to attract renewable energy investment
by Annabel Andrews • • Comments Off
This year will be a “make-or-break year” for attracting renewable energy investment to the UK, according to Ernst and Young’s latest renewable energy attractiveness index. The UK was put in the category “must try harder”, along with Australia, Greece, Italy, Poland,…