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Scottish Power

Scottish Power said in November that it would spend £10 billion by the middle of this decade as part of the UK’s green recovery. It has a number of things in its pipeline, including building the largest green hydrogen production facility in the UK. That would be adjacent to its Whitelee wind farm at Eaglesham, south of Glasgow, which is also the largest in these islands. The development there would also include a 62,000-panel solar farm and battery storage. Hydrogen burns cleanly and has been identified as having the potential to play a central role in reducing emissions. Scottish Power estimates that the Whitelee electrolyser, which could be ready in 2023 subject to planning permission, could produce eight tonnes of green hydrogen a day. That would be enough to fuel 550 buses travelling from Glasgow to Edinburgh and back again. The company is also involved in a project to create a hydrogen hub at the Port of Cromarty Firth in the Highlands, which may see the fuel used for transport and industrial processes such as heating up stills at whisky distilleries. Anderson and a group of colleagues in the energy sector recently took about a month to put together a detailed framework of the large projects that are likely to go ahead within the next two years. He would love to see a similar exercise replicated across all industries as a way for the Scottish government to highlight the investment opportunities which are available. “I’m building grid connections and wind farms that will be here for 40 years. That is eight parliaments and eight governments. I don’t really much care what happens between each of them. But if we get this green economic recovery right, we will create a timeline of 40 to 50 years of benefit out of it because of the stuff we will build and the investment which will be brought in.” Anderson points towards the Cop26 climate talks which take place in Glasgow in November — they were postponed from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic — as an opportunity to highlight the attractions of Scotland to the world. He believes Scotland can position itself as the home of green hydrogen in Europe and should be using Cop26 to shine a spotlight on the myriad renewable energy investment opportunities that are available.

Times 8th May 2021 read more »

EoN

E.ON has ramped up its clean energy offering for customers, unveiling a ‘sustainable’ charging tariff for electric vehicle (EVs) drivers and a new home energy tariff that supplies customers with renewable electricity and carbon-offset gas. The energy company said it had launched the tariffs to meet growing consumer demand for green products and energy.

Business Green 30th April 2021 read more »

US

An underground nuclear waste storage tank in Washington state that dates to World War II appears to be leaking contaminated liquid into the ground, the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday. It’s the second tank believed to be leaking waste left from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The first was discovered in 2013. Many more of the 149 single-walled storage tanks at the site are suspected of leaking.

Statesman Journal 29th April 2021 read more »

Climate crisis features as never before in President Biden’s first address to Congress. The president touted his $2.3tn infrastructure bill, which allocates a significant chunk to tackle climate challenges, by calling it a ‘blue-collar blueprint to build America’

Independent 29th April 2021 read more »

Ebico

Octopus Energy has announced a white-label partnership with Ebico, providing renewable electricity for its customers. Ebico – which claims to be the UK’s first not-for-profit energy company – will retain its brand and responsibility for acquiring new customers, with Octopus’ role to be in supplying energy to Ebico’s customers and providing customer service. Two new energy plans offering 100% renewable electricity are being launched, the Ebico Prime 12 Saver, which is designed for credit meter customers, and Ebico Prepay, which is for customers supplied via a prepayment meter. In September 2020, Ebico’s customers were moved to British Gas following its acquisition of Robin Hood Energy’s customers, Ebico’s former energy supplier. The company explained how this new partnership with Octopus will enable it to continue with its aim of making sustainable home warmth affordable for low-income households, with this being a core focus of the company since it was founded 23 years ago.

Current 13th April 2021 read more »

EDF

EDF has announced the sale of its only gas-fired Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power station in the UK, West Burton B. The French giant has reached an agreement with global energy investment company EIG for the 1,332MW station and 49MW battery at the site in Nottinghamshire. West Burton B is made up of three combined cycle units, fed by a 19km gas pipeline to the site. It started generation in 2013, and currently employs 60 people. During the particularly turbulent power price period at the beginning of 2021, West Burton B was instrumental for Britain’s grid and brought in colossal returns for EDF. It was West Burton B from which National Grid ESO procured power at the record breaking £4,000/MWh on Friday 8 January in the Balancing Mechanism. Indeed, it received over £7.5 million in a single day, and over the period made over £20 million from reacting to the tight margins. During this period, when low winds and cold temperatures drove up prices, West Burton B helped EDF secure more in balancing payments in three days than in Q3 2020 in total, according to research from Hartree Solutions. News that EDF is selling its only gas-fired station follows the company announcing that it is to shutter its West Burton A coal-fired power station in September 2022. Similarly, this was its only plant relying on the fossil fuel in the UK – with its closure to leave only one coal plant in the country after next year – as EDF looks to focus firmly on its nuclear and renewables portfolios. It is looking to divest €3 billion of assets globally by 2022, and told Current± that it had been assessing the market for West Burton B since late last year.

Current 12th April 2021 read more »

Bloomberg 12th April 2021 read more »

EDF

Talks with the European Commission on restructuring EDF are not stuck and the French firm remains on track to start operating its next-generation nuclear reactor at Flamanville next year, its CEO said on Saturday. France hopes to place state-run EDF’s debt-laden and capital hungry nuclear business in a holding company that would be fully state owned. It would control a separate entity housing the more lucrative parts of the business and free of its liabilities. With more nuclear reactors than any country other than the United States, France is keen to ensure a profitable EDF has the money it needs to replace ageing reactors, develop new technology and compete globally.

Reuters 10th April 2021 read more »

EDF

The French government is reportedly anticipating to spend around 10 billion euros ($11.87bn) to buy out minority shareholders in EDF. The move is part of the proposed restructuring of the multinational electric utility company, in which the current ownership of the French government stands at 83.7%. Currently under discussion between Paris and the European Commission, the restructuring is expected to result in the formation of a holding company, EDF SA, Reuters reported. The holding company will be fully state-owned and the proposed restructuring of EDF is codenamed “Project Hercules.” CGT union executive Sebastien Menesplier was quoted by the news agency as saying: “We are told the state will invest 10 billion euros to buy back the shares held by minority shareholders in order for EDF SA to become 100% state-owned.” The French government has initiated Project Hercules in order to secure the future of the debt-laden nuclear unit of EDF. The project was also conceived to enable more attractive part of the business not get impacted by the group’s liabilities. The proposed restructuring is planned to include nationalisation of the holding company that will incorporate nuclear assets. As part of the plans, a separate entity, which will be controlled by the holding company, will be created to hold more lucrative businesses. EDF earlier said that it would be able to double its growth target for renewable energy if the planned restructuring was given go ahead. The company expected to expand its renewable energy capacity to 100GW by 2030, if Project Hercules is rolled out.

NS Energy 7th April 2021 read more »

Good Energy

Good Energy has announced that Nigel Pocklington will take over as chief executive officer, after it was announced the company’s founder Juliet Davenport would step down in February. Pocklington is joining the company from the Moneysupermarket Group where he was chief commercial officer. He has 25 years of experience as a senior executive with a commercial, digital and operational track record.

Current 7th April 2021 read more »

SSE

Big Six energy company SSE has entered into an agreement to sell its contracting division to the Aurelius Group for £27.5 million. It forms part of SSE’s strategy to focus on its core networks and renewable energy businesses, for which it has a £2 billion disposals programme designed to support the strategic shift. SSE Contracting provides mechanical, electrical and street lighting services, and is the largest street light contractor in the UK while its raid division delivers mechanical, electrical and civil services to companies such as Transport for London and Network Rail.

Current 6th April 2021 read more »

Gas Networks

SSE Plc plans to sell its 33% stake in local gas network company Scotland Gas Networks Plc as part of its plan to focus on renewable generation. SSE said in February it had appointed banks to review options for a sale and is “now progressing options for divestment of all its equity stake in SGN,” according to a statement on Tuesday. The disposal follows a deal by National Grid Plc to sell its majority stake in its gas grid business later this year, as the fossil fuel comes under increasing scrutiny from investors and activists.

Bloomberg 30th March 2021 read more »

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