The UK will need to invest an “eye-watering” £215bn in its energy system by 2030 in order to replace aging assets and decarbonise, analysis by Barclays Research has found. As the country undergoes an “energy revolution” nearly half – £95bn – will need to be spent on disruptive technologies such as renewables, battery storage and distributed generation. “With electricity security of supply already on a knife edge, the UK faces the obsolescence of approximately 40% of its current aged [combined cycle gas turbine] fleet by around 2020 and approximately 70% of all reliable generation capacity by 2030,” the report said. In addition to losing 15GW of unabated coal capacity by 2025 due to pledged phase out, the report said by 2030 the UK is also expected to lose: 7.7GW of the current 8.9GW of operational nuclear capacity; 22GW of gas generation capacity, 13GW of it by 2020; and 2.3GW of biomass conversion capacity due to the ending of government subsidies in 2027.
Edie 23rd Aug 2016 read more »
The UK is on the brink of an energy revolution. The falling cost of renewables, ambitious climate targets, and technological advances are paving the way for an energy system dominated by low-carbon, decentralised energy. But as with any revolution, this energy transition will generate both winners and losers. The casualties of the transition are clear. Coal generators are already suffering a sharp downturn in fortunes, and the fuel’s decline is set to continue with the government’s pledge to phase out unabated coal-fired generation by 2025. In addition, while new gas plants may be needed in the medium term to plug the generation gap before energy storage comes on-stream, over the longer term it will increasingly be relegated to providing peaking power and back-up capacity.
Business Green 23rd Aug 2016 read more »
National Grid will take an £18m hit for funding emergency plans to revive UK power networks in the event of a major blackout after Ofgem ruled it should have better foreseen the costs involved. The company applied to the regulator in June to recoup the £113m costs of contracts it awarded to Drax and SSE’s Fiddler’s Ferry plant for “Black Start” services, meaning the plants stand ready to restart themselves independently in the unlikely event of a catastrophic power outage. But Ofgem has decided to only approve £95m of the costs, which are passed on to suppliers and ultimately paid for by energy consumers on their bills, leaving Grid to absorb the rest. National Grid had already been awarded £34.7m by Ofgem to cover the anticipated costs of Black Start services this winter, but applied for the extra £113m aft er Drax said it was considering mothballing some of its units and SSE said it planned to close Fiddler’s Ferry.
Telegraph 23rd Aug 2016 read more »