Greenpeace UK believes plans announced by the government this week to take a one-third stake in a proposed new nuclear power plant, Wylfa Newyydd in Wales, may be illegal under EU competition rules. It said it would seek “urgent clarification”…
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Brexit ‘could expose companies to costly IT changes’
by Annabel Andrews • • Comments Off
Brexit has raised fears for interconnector developers, says ElecLink chief executive Steven Moore, even though the need for interconnections has become, “if anything, more urgent”. Moore said Brexit has “introduced a lot of political uncertainty into what was already a very…
National planning documents ‘out of date’, warns expert
by Annabel Andrews • • Comments Off
National planning documents ‘out of date’, warns expert National Policy Statements for energy projects – including renewable energy – are slipping out of date and there is a ‘pressing need for revisions’, according to planning expert and blogger Angus Walker…
Ofgem issues ‘statement of objections’: did companies break competition law?
by New Power • • Comments Off
Ofgem has alleged that three companies - energy suppliers Economy Energy and E (Gas and Electricity) and consultancy Dyball Associates – have broken competition law. In a ‘statement of objections’, the regulator alleges that: Between at least January and September 2016,…
Sembcorp acquires UK Power Reserve, plans ‘major expansion’
by New Power • • Comments Off
Sembcorp is to acquire distributed power specialist UK Power Reserve (UKPR) for £216 million. UKPR’s generating and storage fleet is spread across 32 locations in England and Wales. It has 533MW in operation with a further 480MW in construction and…
Drax applies for planning consent to convert remaining coal units to gas
by New Power • • Comments Off
Drax has submitted an application to National Infrastructure Planning for its Repower gas generation and battery storage project. The company plans to repurpose Drax’s two remaining coal generating units (units 5 and 6) with up to 3.6GW of gas-fired power generation and…
Vattenfall plans EV charging network across GB
by New Power • • Comments Off
Vattenfall is to begin installing ‘pay-as-you-go’ electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Great Britain that will be open to all EV drivers. From June, the company plans to partner with commercial developers, real-estate companies, industries, fleet owners and public bodies such as…
Can Elexon crack open the energy ‘supplier hub’ model? Sign up to hear its proposals
by New Power • • Comments Off
Industry settlements company Elexon has suggested customers need no longer rely on a single electricity supplier to provide all their power (the so-called ‘supplier hub’ model). It has published proposals that could quickly allow customers to use several suppliers, for…
Think tank calls for zero emissions target
by New Power • • Comments Off
Conservative think tank Bright Blue has called on the government to mark ten years since the Climate Change Act by announcing this year a new legal net zero emissions target In a new report, Hotting up, the think tank says there…
RBS strengthens low-carbon funding policies
by New Power • • Comments Off
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has decided to halt financing for power companies that generate more than 40% of their electricity from coal (down from a 65% limit) – one of a suite of changes in its financing policy that…