Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 30/08/20
Guardian Online – News: Scottish nuclear power station to shut down early after reactor problems
27 August 2020, Severin Carrell and Jillian Ambrose. EDF Energy to close Hunterston next year after spending £200m on repairs:
News: New BEIS forecasts show costs of renewables continues to fall – Current News
25 August 2020, Alice Grundy. Costs of deploying renewable electricity generators continue to fall as new government statistics show dramatic cost reductions for solar and wind out to 2040:
https://www.current-news.co.uk/news/new-beis-forecasts-show-costs-of-renewables-continues-to-fall
Research and Analysis: The potential of bioenergy with carbon capture – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
24 August 2020. Report by Ricardo on the potential for deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in the UK:
The potential of bioenergy with carbon capture
Research and Analysis: Storage cost and technical assumptions for electricity storage technologies – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
24 August 2020. Report by Mott MacDonald providing updated costs and technical assumptions for electricity storage technologies:
Storage cost and technical assumptions for electricity storage technologies
Collection: Energy generation cost projections – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
24 August 2020. This series brings together all documents relating to energy generation cost projections:
Energy generation cost projections
Open Letter: Increasing the level of coordination in offshore electricity infrastructure: BEIS and Ofgem open letter to developers of offshore wind generation, electricity transmission licensees, and other interested parties – Ofgem
August 2020. The letter sets out the action’s BEIS and Ofgem are taking to increase the level of coordination in offshore transmission infrastructure and calls for stakeholder views to support the Offshore Transmission Network Review:
Research and Analysis: Business competitiveness in industrial sectors and the role of carbon pricing policy in the UK – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
24 August 2020. Research to develop a framework for assessing the determinants of business competitiveness in industrial sectors and the role of carbon pricing policy in the UK:
Business competitiveness in industrial sectors and the role of carbon pricing policy in the UK
Article: What does this summer tell us about the role for nuclear in the UK’s future energy mix? – Politics Home
28 August 2020. Humphrey Cadoux Hudson, Managing Director, Nuclear Development. EDF says low wind conditions this summer demonstrate the need for nuclear as part of the future energy mix:
News: Ofgem launches evaluation of balancing costs as they soar by 39% during lockdown – Current News
18 August 2020, Molly Lempriere. fgem is evaluating it balancing costs system after costs rose by 39% during lockdown. Between March and July 2020, the Britain’s grid balancing costs rose to £718 million, nearly 40% higher than National Grid ESO expected, as consumer behaviour changed due to the nationwide lockdown:
News: UK Government starts search for corporate COP26 sponsors – Edie.net
18 August 2020. The UK’s COP26 presidency has outlined its sponsorship criteria for the conference, stating that it is only looking to work with businesses with “ambitious” net-zero targets:
UK Government starts search for corporate COP26 sponsors
Corporate Report: Electricity transmission networks: major projects update – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
18 August 2020. Quarterly status updates on major projects from the Transmission Owners:
Electricity transmission networks: major projects update
News: Legally binding targets to help “build back greener” – Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon George Eustice MP
19 August 2020. The Government sets out how it will underpin key environmental commitments with legally binding targets, including for air quality, water, waste and biodiversity:
Legally binding targets to help “build back greener”
News: Tory MPs join calls for 2030 ICE ban as caucus makes green recovery recommendations – Current News
14 August 2020, Alice Grundy. Bring forward the ICE ban to 2030, a group of over 100 moderate Conservative MPs has recommended in a new collection of essays:
Research and Analysis: Business models for low carbon hydrogen production – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
17 August 2020. Report commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on possible business models for low carbon hydrogen production:
Business models for low carbon hydrogen production
Start up and shut down times of power carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) facilities – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy – Research and Analysis
17 August 2020. An investigation into start up and shut down times of gas-fired power carbon capture, usage and storage (power CCUS) facilities:
Start up and shut down times of power carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) facilities
Open Letter: Open letter on our review of high balancing costs during spring and summer 2020 – Ofgem
17 August 2020. This letter sets outs our intention to evaluate the high balancing costs on the GB electricity system this spring and summer and how we intend to engage with stakeholders in this process:
Open letter on our review of spring and summer 2020
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy– Form: Direct air capture and other greenhouse gas removal technologies competition
17 August 2020. Register for roundtables to help inform the upcoming direct air capture and other greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies innovation competition:
Direct air capture and other greenhouse gas removal technologies competition
Open Consultation: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Draft Strategy for Consultation – Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Radioactive Waste Management, Sellafield Ltd, Dounreay , Magnox Ltd, and Low Level Waste Repository Ltd
17 August 2020. Draft Strategy: a 12-week public consultation during which we welcome comments, questions, and feedback from all our stakeholders:
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Draft Strategy for Consultation
News: Treasury defends lack of ‘green strings’ tied to corporate Covid-19 relief packages – Edie.net
14 August 2020. The Government has defended its decision to issue billion-pound bailouts for carbon-intensive companies and sectors, with the Treasury hitting back at accusations that the Paris Agreement and the climate crisis had been cast aside, but a court case still looms:
Treasury defends lack of ‘green strings’ tied to corporate Covid-19 relief packages
News: Tory MPs call for Boris Johnson to go further and faster on climate in Covid-19 recovery plans – Edie.net
14 August 2020. A group of 100 moderate Conservative MPs have called on Boris Johnson to beef up green legislation and investment through the UK’s Covid-19 recovery strategy, and are particularly keen for the national petrol and diesel car ban to be moved forward to 2030:
News: National Grid kick-starts UK’s first trials of grid-injected biomethane from cow manure – Edie.net
August 2020. Biogas produced from straw and cow manure has been directly injected into the gas grid in Cambridgeshire, in what the National Grid is calling a UK first:
National Grid kick-starts UK’s first trials of grid-injected biomethane from cow manure
House of Commons Research Briefing: Housing and net zero – House of Commons Library
13 August 2020. This briefing considers the approach to housing, energy efficiency and net zero, providing an overview of Government policy and parliamentary comment on the issue:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8830/
Terms of Reference: Net Zero Advisory Group – Ofgem
13 August 2020. This document sets out the Terms of Reference for the Net Zero Advisory Group:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/net-zero-advisory-group-terms-reference
House of Commons Research Briefing: Energy policy: an overview – House of Commons Library
11 August 2020. This page summarises the Commons Library publications on energy policy. The overview briefing paper provides background on energy in the UK, the basis for energy policy, and a timeline of significant developments in energy policy:
Open Letter: Notification to interested stakeholders of our interconnector policy review – Ofgem
12 August 2020. This open letter sets out the scope of our interconnector policy review and invites interested stakeholders to notify us of their interest:
Open letter: Notification to interested stakeholders of our interconnector policy review