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Energy Assets acquires UK smart meter portfolio from Macquarie

by with No Comment Business Utilities NewsEnergy NewsGreen Energy UK

Energy Assets Group has added more than 600,000 industrial and commercial meters to its growing portfolio of assets with the acquisition of a UK smart meter portfolio from Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance.

Energy Assets has invested an undisclosed sum to buy Cortex Metering Solutions (CMS) from Macquarie.

Colin Lynch, Energy Assets CEO, said: “This acquisition complements our gas metering portfolio and aligns with our strategy to be a leader in technologies and services that support the journey to Net-Zero.

“We very much look forward to extending our reach in industrial and commercial metering assets on behalf of new and existing customers, working in partnership with more than 80 energy suppliers who have relationships with CMS.”

Julian Liddy, senior managing director and head of Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance in EMEA said: “Having played an active and founding role in the UK’s metering industry for the last 18 years, we are proud of the contribution we have made in building out the I&C portfolio to this point and helping our clients to deploy smart meters across the country.”

Neil Denley, a managing director for Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance in EMEA, added: “The sale of part of our industrial and commercial portfolio will allow us to focus on our residential metering business – where we have an important role to play in helping meet our customers’ ambitious smart meter rollout targets.”

Macquarie, which entered industrial and commercial metering in 2006, said it will continue to focus its efforts on the residential metering sector going forward.

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50,000 jobs by 2050: UK Government outlines plans to scale up carbon capture sector

by with No Comment Energy NewsGreen Energy UK

Published late on Friday (7 May), the policy paper states that the UK will aim to capture and store 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. Should this target be met, and progress continue accelerating between 2030 and 2050, the paper states, some 50,000 jobs could be supported.

The emerging CCUS sector is described in the report as a “great incubator of green jobs” as Ministers seek to get the UK on track to host two million such roles by the end of the decade. It is also described as a sector that can help deliver a “fair and equitable transition” for oil and gas workers who will likely need new roles in the coming years, given that many in the sector will have transferrable skills.

While the report describes itself as a ‘roadmap’, there is little detail on how the Government will support the skills, infrastructure and technologies needed to deliver on 2030 and 2050 targets. It states that a full map of opportunities and challenges, as well as Government supports, will be published later this year. This document will come alongside a ‘Fit for CCUS’ scheme for businesses, designed to help high emitters like oil and gas majors and heavy industrial sites to prepare to adopt the technology.

The document does state that BEIS will work more closely with bodies including the Treasury, the Department for National Trade, the British Business Bank and the National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) to develop the map. Ministers have faced multiple accusations in recent months of failing to work across departments to avoid net-zero loopholes. The NIB is notably entering operation this week, with questions still remaining about its climate remit.

It also reassures readers within the sector that BEIS remains open to supporting CCUS projects it is not currently aware of, through mechanisms such as the dedicated Infrastructure Fund. Announced late last year as part of the Ten Point Plan, the Fund’s remit was updated last week in line with the UK’s adoption of the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) Sixth Carbon Budget recommendations last month. The paper also expresses the possibility of CCUS being included in future post-Brexit trade deals.

Existing projects, the policy paper states, should identify and advertise potential delivery contractors “as visibly and as early as possible”.

Clusters and dispersed sites

The paper comes after a report commissioned by BEIS, and published last year, concluded that the department is lacking a “comprehensive regulatory framework” to overcome challenges to “dispersed” sites that would be suitable for CCUS but that aren’t located in industrial clusters.

Indeed, the overarching target for CCUS to date has been for the UK to fully decarbonise at least one industrial cluster by 2040. Clusters are seen as less risky locations for deployment as, with dispersed sites, new transportation infrastructure will be needed.

The UK Government has increasingly focused on CCS since setting its legally binding net-zero target. Before then, the previous £1bn competition fund for CCS was actually scrapped by the now-defunct Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

According to the CCC, CCUS is a “non-optional” component of the UK’s transition to net-zero. However, some green groups would like to see Ministers doing more to prioritise technologies that are already mature, alongside nature-based solutions for sequestering carbon, in the short to mid-term.

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Octopus Energy reveals plans to expand into green hydrogen

by with No Comment Energy NewsGreen Energy UKNews

The Octopus Energy Group is set to expand into the green hydrogen sector, touting the benefits of the technology for “parts of the economy electrification can’t reach”.

It is planning to bring to market a locally distributed ‘green hydrogen as a service’ proposition as part of a new division of the company, Octopus Hydrogen.

Set to launch in Autumn 2021, the green hydrogen is designed to serve sectors such as heavy goods transportation, energy storage, industrial applications and aviation.

The move follows Octopus Energy Group acquiring Octopus Renewables, bringing a portfolio of more than 300 clean energy assets with a combined capacity of 2,800MW across six countries together with the company’s supply business which currently serves two million domestic customers.

Its Kraken platform is now used by 2.2 million customers in the UK alone, with the software used by energy companies including E.On and Good Energy in the UK, and companies like Origin Energy and Hanwha Corporation in Australia.

Together, its large renewables portfolio and Kraken platform means the Octopus Energy Group is “uniquely positioned to drive down costs and help customers drive the transition to a competitive and 100% green economy”, the company told Current± in a statement.

Green hydrogen picks up pace in the UK

Green hydrogen is increasingly drawing focus from both the government and companies looking to invest in a solution for decarbonising challenging sectors. In March, the UK government announced a £171 million Industrial Decarbonisation Fund for green tech projects focused on hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS), which built on the National Infrastructure Strategy announced in November 2020.

Among the nine projects set to be funded by the scheme are Zero Carbon Humber – which will include one of the world’s first at-scale low carbon hydrogen production plants, as well as CO2 and hydrogen pipelines – and the South Wales Industrial Cluster – which will see solar giant Lightsoure bp develop solar powered green hydrogen for direct use in the steel manufacturing on site.

Other energy suppliers are also becoming increasingly interested in the sector, with ScottishPower submitting a planning application for up to 40MW of solar along with up to 50MW of battery storage and a 20MW electrolyser as part of its Green Hydrogen for Scotland project this April. Hydrogen companies are also expanding their operations, with Logan Energy announcing former SSE CEO Ian Marchant is to become chair of the board this week.

In a report produced by the International Renewable Energy Agency in March, it suggested that if global warming is to be curbed, green hydrogen must take over from fossil fuels in a number of sectors. It expects 30% of electricity to be dedicated to green hydrogen and the fuel’s derivatives such as ammonia and methanol by 2050. In order to reach this point, the green hydrogen sector needs to scale up massively, with almost 5,000GW of hydrogen electrolyser capacity needed, up from just 0.3GW today.

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UK to toughen targets on greenhouse gas emissions for next 15 years

by with No Comment Energy NewsGreen Energy UK

Carbon dioxide to be cut by 78% by 2035 compared with 1990 levels, the prime minister is to say later this week

The UK is to toughen its targets on greenhouse gas emissions for the next 15 years, the first major developed economy to do so, the Guardian understands.

Following recommendations of the government’s statutory climate advisors, carbon dioxide is to be cut by 78% by 2035 compared with 1990 levels, the prime minister will say later this week – an increase from the current target of a 68% reduction by 2030.

The move is intended to help spur further action by other governments, ahead of vital UN climate talks, called Cop26, to be hosted by the UK in Glasgow this November.

At Cop26, nations will be asked to set out national plans for carbon curbs over the next 10 years. Known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, these plans form the bedrock of the Paris agreement, but current plans from most countries are far too weak to fulfil the aims of the treaty.

Joe Biden is expected to set out the US’s NDC later this week, ahead of a virtual climate summit of 40 world leaders he is hosting. China is also expected to submit an NDC in the coming months, and new NDCs for Japan, South Korea and Canada are believed to be imminent.

The UK already had an NDC, stipulating 68% cuts by 2030, but by setting out a further target for 2035 the prime minister will fulfil the legal obligations set out in the 2008 Climate Change Act. Under the act, governments must set five-year carbon budgets stretching beyond the term of the current parliament.

The UK’s sixth carbon budget will run to 2035 and was presented last December by the Committee on Climate Change, the independent advisory committee set up under the act.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy refused to confirm the plans, which the Guardian was informed of by independent sources. A government spokesperson said: “We will set our ambition for Carbon Budget 6 shortly, taking into account the latest advice from the Climate Change Committee.”

However, Labour accused the government of setting targets without putting in place the policies needed to deliver them. Ed Miliband, shadow business secretary, said: “The character of this government on climate change is now clear: targets without delivery. So while any strengthening of our targets is the right thing to do, the government can’t be trusted to match rhetoric with reality. Ministers have failed to bring forward an ambitious green recovery. We need a government that treats the climate emergency as the emergency it is.”

The government has caused consternation among senior climate experts around the world in recent months, through a series of measures that have appeared at odds with its commitments to tackling the climate crisis. Senior ex-diplomats told the Guardian that the decision to slash overseas aid was causing particular concern among developing countries ahead of the Cop26 summit.

Observers are also concerned at actions including the green light for a new coalmine, now subject to a public inquiry; new licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea; the UK’s support for making Australia’s climate sceptic former minister Matthias Cormann head of the OECD; the scrapping of the green homes grant, the government’s only “green recovery” measure; airport expansion; and slashing support for electric vehicles.

Chris Venables, of the Green Alliance thinktank, said: “It’s great news that the government will put the 2035 target into law, and including aviation and shipping is genuine global climate leadership. But it’s increasingly jarring for this long-term ambition not be backed up by action in the here and now. The clock is running down to Cop26 in November, and a detailed and fully funded net zero plan is needed well before then.”

Ed Matthew, campaigns director for the climate change think tank E3G said: “Setting an ambitious emission reduction target would boost the UK’s diplomatic drive to persuade other countries to set out ambitious targets of their own. That is one of the big tests of UK climate diplomacy ahead of the Cop26 climate summit. The UK now has the opportunity to spark a global green industrial revolution but ultimately its credibility will rest on action. It must now put in place the policies and investment needed to achieve the target. That is the mark of true climate leadership.”

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Energy networks make it easier for companies to provide flexibility services

by with No Comment Energy NewsGreen Energy UK

ENA has made it easier for companies to provide flexibility services to the energy sector by refreshing and streamlining a common contract used across the sector.

The updates, published today, offer more transparency and will unlock liquidity in local markets for flexibility, ultimately pushing down energy bills in the long term.

The standard contract has been created through ENA’s leading Open Networks project, with input from distribution network operators and National Grid Electricity System Operator, to provide a consistent GB-wide core agreement for those wishing to provide vital flexibility services to the networks. It will help take the transition to the smart grid to the next level and marks another step forward in bringing consistency across the industry.

The new contract has been developed with feedback from a range of industry stakeholders including Ofgem and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Key updates include:

  • simplifying the core contract, providing increased alignment with ESO approach
  • making clauses more accessible across the agreement
  • making the process more accessible to aggregators

The energy networks have made significant progress on flexibility services since the launch of a dedicated workstream as part of ENA’s Open Networks project at the beginning of 2019. With over 2GW of flexibility tendered by distribution network operators last year, the workstream has played a key role in helping all distribution network operators prioritise and deliver their flexibility commitments.

Farina Farrier, Head of Open Networks Project at Energy Networks Association, said:

“The UK is already a world leader when it comes to energy flexibility and as part of the UK’s commitment to Net Zero, the whole of the energy industry is behind making it easier and more accessible to work with network operators. We’ve got lots of work ahead of us but by really focusing on providing a consistent, accessible way of working together, we can maintain that world-leading position and power towards Net Zero emissions.”

Alex Howison, Flexible Solutions Manager at Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said:

“It’s brilliant to be able to take the lead in actioning another positive step towards a ‘whole industry’ standard agreement being finalised. Flexibility is critical for enabling the UK to reach Net Zero and is vital to help customers get the most from new technologies – while helping networks to manage their systems better and plan investment.

“The momentum ENA’s Open Networks project has built, and the pivotal role it plays in the energy transition, will continue into 2021 and this will be another year of action and delivery for the flexibility services workstream.”

A public consultation on the next version of the common contract will follow in August, with plans to launch at the end of the year. Its associated contractual evolution report will be launched later this month.

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RWE absorbs innogy activities in final move of E.On asset swap

by with No Comment Energy NewsGreen Energy UK

RWE has today (2 July) taken over the activities of innogy, marking the conclusion of its asset swap with E.On.

The German energy company sold its remaining stake in innogy to E.On as part of the deal, but has today integrated innogy’s renewables and gas storage businesses into its own operations, with over 2,700 employees switching over.

“The new RWE has been completed,” RWE’s CFO, Markus Krebber, said. “It is a new, bigger and more diverse company, with a clear goal.

“We have a wonderful starting point: a huge worldwide renewables portfolio, two teams that complement each other perfectly with many years of experience, and a strong investment programme,” he continued.

Innogy’s stake in the Austrian power utility Kelag has also been transferred today, which RWE said supplements the portfolio “perfectly” with its hydroelectric power business.

The swap – which was been in the works since 2018 and was approved in September 2019 by the European Commission- also saw RWE acquire E.On’s renewable energy activities in 2019.

RWE is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2040, and now is largely focused on power generation over its networks business, which has been transferred to E.On.

Meanwhile, E.On saw a sharp increase in its sales and earnings in Q1 2020 which it said was due to its takeover of innogy and npower, a marked improvement in light of the latter causing its net income to fall by 49% in its financial results for 2019.

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Centrica launches new Energy as a Service bundle to help businesses build back better

by with No Comment Business Utilities NewsEnergy NewsGreen Energy UK

Centrica Business Solutions (CBS) has launched a new Energy as a Service bundle, specifically for those that are looking to make an investment in energy saving technologies.

The capital-free energy generation product is designed to help businesses ‘build back better’ in response to COVID-19.

It will offer a bundle to companies that includes the design, installation and financing of on-site power generation, helping them to decarbonise and reduce their energy bills without the upfront capital expenditure of equipment.

Typically, this would see CBS installing on-site generation technology such as Combined Heat and Power units for a customer, which it will then manage as well as providing any top up electricity or gas needed. The business repays the cost of the technology through the energy savings across the length of the contract.

Additional savings will be made through the use of the generation technologies in wholesale and demand response markets, said CBS.

According to the company, by choosing the bundle, savings can be made in the short term that can then be used to support more long term carbon cutting measures, such as the installation of PV panels or enabling electric vehicles.

“For many organisations, the last few months have been extremely challenging and so reducing costs and improving business resilience will be critical to recovery,” said Alan Barlow, director of UK & Ireland for CBS.

“By helping with the upfront investment in energy solutions, we can support them towards improved energy security and cost savings. Our aim is to support customers who wish to Build Back Better, by transitioning to a sustainable future without the need for significant capital.”

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EDF preparing cost-cutting plan worth up to three billion euros: sources

by with No Comment Business Utilities NewsEnergy NewsGreen Energy UK

PARIS (Reuters) – French state-controlled utility EDF (EDF.PA) has started preparing a cost-cutting plan worth between 2 and 3 billion euros ($1.13 billion), two sources told Reuters, confirming a report by French newspaper Le Monde.

The savings plan could entail divestments of major assets or a hiring and investment freeze, while seeking cost cuts at all levels, Le Monde said on Monday.

An EDF spokesman told Reuters there was a savings plan in the works, but said it was too early to provide details.

EDF, which operates all of France’s 57 nuclear reactors that account for around 70% of the country’s electricity needs, earlier withdrew its financial targets for 2020 and 2021 as the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak hit key areas of its businesses.

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Vattenfall gets green light for 1.8GW Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind farm

by with No Comment Green Energy UKNews

BEIS gives nod to huge 1.8GW wind farm proposed by Swedish energy company, as it delays approval for Ørsted’s Hornsea Three project for the fourth time

Vattenfall has been given the all clear to build the mammoth 1.8GW Norfolk Vanguard offshore windfarm off the east coast of England.

Planning consent was granted earlier this week by Business Secretary Alok Sharma, following a decision in June to postpone the decision by a month.

The Swedish energy giant intends to install between 90 and 180 turbines across an area of just under 600 square kilometres located 47 kilometres from the Norfolk coast. The project is expected to generate enough power for roughly 1.95 million homes.

Gunnar Groebler, senior vice-president for Vattenfall’s wind business, said the firm was delighted to clinch planning consent for the development, which is scheduled to come online in the mid-2020s.

“This decision justifies the confidence that we have in the offshore wind sector in Britain, and we’re looking forward to developing the project and benefiting the local community,” he said.

“Decarbonising our economies starts with one of the most essential resources – electricity,” he added. “Today’s news sends a strong signal that the UK is serious about its climate ambitions and is open for business to power a green economic recovery.” 

Vattenfall had previously questioned the government’s plans for the offshore wind sector after suffering a second round of delays to the Norfolk Vanguard project last month.

Norfolk Vanguard’s sister project, the proposed 1.8GW Norfolk Boreas farm, has also been stung by significant delays to the government consenting procedure. In May, the Department for Business, Energy, and Idustrial Strategy (BEIS) extended the examination period by five months to October, citing the cancellation of hearings due to the coronavirus.

Danielle Lane, country manager and head of offshore wind for Vattenfall in the UK, urged the government to speed up its approvals process. “It’s now vital that other shovel-ready renewable and low-carbon projects are also given the go-ahead as soon as possible,” she said. “Delays of even just a month or so can set back big infrastructure developments by years in some cases. The UK has to go much further, much faster, if it’s going to reach its net zero targets.”

Lane stressed that the offshore wind projects promised to deliver a significant boost to the local economy. “Today is also great news for people living locally, who we’ve been working with over the last four years to develop this project,” she said. “They can look forward to a multi-billion pound economic boost, bringing with it hundreds of new long-term jobs, driving forward a green revolution and helping to level up UK opportunities.”

The developer expects Norfolk Vanguard to generate more than 400 jobs in the onshore construction phase and a further 150 jobs once operational, once combined with Norfolk Boreas’ workforce.

Hugh McNeal, chief executive at trade body RenewableUK, commended government’s decision to approve Norfolk Vanguard and urged it to reach a similar conclusion for Ørsted’s 2.4GW Hornsea Three project, which was subjected to further planning delays this week.

“Investments in major clean energy projects like these are great examples of how we can get the economy moving again, and the Secretary of State’s announcement will boost our ability to meet the government’s 2030 target of 40GW of offshore wind,” McNeal said. “The landmark decision on Norfolk Vanguard means the UK is taking a significant step closer towards our net zero emissions target, and confirmation of a positive decision on Hornsea Three will get us there even faster.”

In a blow for the Danish energy developer, BEIS extended the deadline for its decision on the 300-turbine Hornsea Three project to 31 December 2020 for the fourth time on Tuesday.

Sharma confirmed, however, that he was “minded to approve” the project, subject to further information being submitted by the Danish energy company by the end of September. The new decision date, BEIS said, would allow time for further consultations with interested parties after the new information was provided.

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BP and Shell Write-Off Billions in Assets, Citing Covid-19 and Climate Change

by with No Comment Business Utilities NewsGreen Energy UKNews

The moves were seen as a possible turning point as plummeting demand makes big oil companies admit they’re not worth what they used to be.

Two of the world’s largest energy companies have sent their strongest signals yet that the coronavirus pandemic may accelerate a global transition away from oil, and that billions of dollars invested in fossil fuel assets could go to waste.

This week, Royal Dutch Shell said it would slash the value of its oil and gas assets by up to $22  billion amid a crash in oil prices. The announcement came two weeks after a similar declaration by BP, saying it would reduce the value of its assets by up to $17.5 billion. Both companies said the accounting moves were a response not only to the coronavirus-driven recession, but also to global efforts to tackle climate change.

Some analysts say the global oil and gas industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation and is finally being forced to reckon with a future of dwindling demand for its products.

“I think we may look back on this as the turning point, the moment the industry finally started to say that real assets with real dollar figures associated with them are likely to be ‘stranded'”—or left undeveloped—”in a decarbonizing world,” said Andrew Logan, senior director of oil and gas at Ceres, a sustainable business advocacy group that has represented major investors in their engagement with oil companies. “This is a huge turnaround from the industry’s previous stance, which had been that no existing assets were likely to be stranded, that there may be risks in the future, but not in the here and now. That acknowledgment, that the risk is real and it’s here in the present, is a really big deal.”