The Danes today confirmed their investment go-ahead to co-locate the 300MW/600MWh storage system, among Europe’s largest, on the Norfolk site.  No cash value was disclosed.

Commissioning the devices is timetabled for late 2026. Co-locating both facilities will minimise disruption during construction and later during operations.

At 600MWh, the Tesla-built battery will host clean wind power in quantities enough to power a nominal 80,000 homes.

Ørsted sees gargantuan coulomb crèches like Swardeston as natural partners for its 12 wind farms now generating in British waters.

The company has 660MW/1,850MWh of batteries either under construction or already in service across the UK and US.  Over 2GW of further amp hotels are in various stages of development in the same regions, plus Ireland.

The departing Sunak administration intended to multiply the nation’s present offshore generation capacity fourfold by 2030, reaching 50GW.  In their manifesto due tomorrow, Labour are expected honour that target.

Duncan Clark, Ørsted’s boss in UK & Ireland, said: “The Swardeston battery will help ensure renewable energy is used in the best possible way by storing it when demand is lower and then releasing it back into the system when really needed. This maximises the potential of renewable energy whilst providing increased energy security and value to consumers. “

Mike Snyder, Megapack senior director at battery providers Tesla, said: “We are excited to be part of this industry-leading project with an exceptional partner. This project demonstrates the value and flexibility of Tesla’s best-in-class power electronics, providing enhanced grid stability and enabling more renewables on the grid.”

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So says analysis released this week by research firm Rystad Energy.  It finds that 1GW of electrolysis capacity has already been installed in China.

However, Rystad also notes that most of this capacity will be built in the north, where wind and solar resource is high, and not co-located with the likely demand centres for hydrogen in transport and industry in the eastern cities.

It notes that provincial targets combined would produce a million tonnes a year by 2025. The northern regions of Inner Mongolia and Gansu alone respectively aim for 480,000 tonnes and 200,000 tonnes of green H₂ a year by 2025, not only exceeding national targets, but local demand too.

As such, the research firm highlights that China’s energy companies are putting more effort into linking up supply and demand via new hydrogen pipelines.

These include Sinopec’s planned 400km pipeline between Inner Mongolia and Beijing — which would be able to initially carry 100,000 tonnes a year from 2027 before scaling up to 500,000 tonnes a year — as well as its subsidiary China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation’s proposal for a 6,000km network by 2050.

Rystad also tracks a 737km hydrogen pipeline from the province of Zhangjiakou to the port of Caofeidian, which traffics both international and domestic cargo, to be developed by Tangshan Haitai New Energy Technology at a cost of $845m. “If realized, it would be the world’s longest hydrogen pipeline,” the research firm notes.

While the Beijing government set its green hydrogen targets as part of a wider push to peak the country’s emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060, Rystad warns that stricter standards and faster deployment of renewables will be needed to prevent extra emissions from electrolysers’ demand on the grid.

The research firm says that 217GW of new solar and 76GW of new wind power were installed in 2023 to decarbonise China’s grid — although coal still dominates the country’s power generation. It also estimates that a million tonnes a year of green hydrogen production capacity would need 20GW of extra onshore wind.

“Consequently, hydrogen projects compete directly with other substantial electrification needs throughout China,” the research firm warns.

Additionally, the country currently has separate standards for “low-carbon” hydrogen, which is given a threshold carbon intensity of 14.51kgCO₂e/kgH₂, and “renewable” or “clean” hydrogen, which must have a carbon intensity of at most 4.9CO₂e/kgH₂. However, it is unclear whether these also account for potential induced emissions from using grid electricity and upstream methane emissions.

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The planned project, covering parcels of land near Gainsborough on the Notts-Lincs border, is nearly ten times bigger than the 50 MWp threshold below which officials of West Lydney district council could reach a judgement.

Qualifying thus as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), and in line with trends for ever bigger solar farms, West Burton will need to be judged by Whitehall’s Planning Inspectorate.

Its recommendation is expected early in August.  Whoever is then the new government’s planning & housing minister thereafter will have until November to decide on granting a consent order.

The West Burton farm compromises three electricity generating stations, with associated development including grid-scale batteries, and grid connection equipment.

Those batteries mean the solar park could usefully replace 24% of the output of EdF’s now closed coal-fired West Burton A power station.  If approved, the project will supply the National Grid with clean electricity in amounts meeting the needs of over 140,000 homes.

West Burton lies at the northern end of  the Trent Valley, dubbed “Megawatt Valley” by locals since the 1960s due to the cluster of generating stations built there. They were first  fuelled by coal from seams under Nottinghamshire.  That legacy of high capacity generation favours below average waits for renewable energy projects seeking connections to the National Grid.

Coal-fired West Burton A finally closed in March 2023, having been kept running for an extra six months at D-ESNZ’s request, in response to Putin’s war on Ukraine.  Demolition begun in January is expected to last until 2028.

Tara Sethi, regional infrastructure technical director at Lanpro, commented, “Lanpro has worked with Island Green Power on the creation of the West Burton solar project for three years.

“This substantial project has the potential to provide affordable, clean power to hundreds of thousands of homes in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.  In doing so, it has a significant role to play in meeting the country’s Net Zero target. We’ve been privileged to work with Island Green Power on this and Cottam solar schemes and we look forward to a successful outcome later this year.”

Advising Lanpro in drawing up the planning application have been lawyers Pinsent Masons, land referencing specialists Dalcour Maclaren and communications firm Counter Context.

Pictured is an earlier Lanpro solar farm, a 20MW project completed at Lisburn, in northern Ireland, in 2017.

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As Britain’s greenest university, Manchester is top-ranked in the UK and third in the world for its benchmarks achieved against the independent 2024 QS World University Sustainability Rankings.   All its degree programmes are certified against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“She’s electric. Can I be electric, too?”

Now all its buildings and institutes – including part of the world-ranking Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, the Alliance Business School, the John Rylands Library and the Schuster physics labs where the Nobel-prize winning material graphene was developed by UK-citizens Professors Andre Geim & Kostya Novoselov in 2004 – will from autumn 2025 be powered by clean electricity made from Essex’s light.

Famously rainy Manchester’s biggest university has signed a deal with PV park developers Environmena, to buy four-fifths of the 58GWh output of the developers’ approved solar farm at Medebridge, close to South Ockendon and the Thames.

Expected to generate first late next year, the Medebridge project’s 104,000 solar panels will cover 175 acres of low-grade agricultural land – around 70 football pitches’ worth – next to a landfill site. At just over 46GWh every year, the Essex farm’s low carbon current will meet 65 per cent of the University’s power needs.

Enviromena says Medebridge will deliver greater biodiversity to Essex’s estuary edgelands. Preserved native grasses and wildflower meadows will surround the panels’ racks, encouraging nesting sites & rearing of wildlife, including bugs at the bottom of food chains.

“All I need is the air that I breathe”

Off-taking most of the farm’s clean power for a committed decade will speed Manchester University on its journey to intended carbon neutrality by 2038.  In 2022 the uni voted to terminate its investments in coal, oil and gas, and to reduce the carbon intensity of its other endowments by 37%.

Professor of climate and energy policy Carly McLachlan, the university’s academic lead for carbon, observed: “The important thing for us in developing this relationship (with Enviromena) was that our commitment would add new renewable energy capacity to the UK electricity system. Through our long-term purchasing commitment, we have played a key role in bringing this development forward – maximising the positive impact of our purchasing power.”

Baggy, not boggy. Still “mad for it…”

Finance manager Lee Barlow, the university’s lead on the Essex-sourced deal, added: “After nearly three years of rigorous procurement negotiations, we are proud to announce this landmark agreement, which (delivers) price certainty and supply stability.

“Securing this 10-year corporate PPA despite such adversity is a huge accomplishment and holds special significance as we celebrate the University’s bicentennial year.”

Enviromena’s chief commercial officer Lee Adams responded: “This significant partnership with the University of Manchester demonstrates the shared commitment of an influential, large-scale organisation, which, at the time it celebrates its 200-year anniversary, is taking steps towards reducing its carbon footprint through the technologies of tomorrow”

Founded in Britain by Sami Khoreibi in 2007, Enviromena is privately owned by investors Arjun Infrastructure Partners.

The developer currently manages over 300MW of renewables projects, including in the UAE, Egypt & Jordan. In the UK and Italy alone it is bringing forward elements in a 3GW-plus pipeline of green energy projects.

Straight outta Purfleet, twisting my melons

For investors Arjun Infrastructure, head of ESG Rhyadd Keaney-Watkins commented: “For Arjun and our investors, this deal between Manchester University and Enviromena is an exciting example of the positive real-world outcomes which infrastructure can deliver.

“With a fivefold increase in the UK’s solar generation capacity needed by 2035, and with more and more institutions following Manchester University’s leadership in decarbonising operations, there is an important role for developers such as Enviromena to deliver the ‘green electrons’ needed as part of net zero and the energy transition.”

Interest declared: the author was educated in south Essex and in Manchester

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Spanish-owned Iberdrola, Europe’s third biggest power company as ranked by company value, has commissioned the 496 MW park off Saint-Brieuc, facing Jersey.

The first of the farm’s 62 marine turbines were erected in 2021. Saint-Brieuc will produce 1,820GWh each year, around 9% of all electricity consumed across the entire province.

Only the 714MW East Anglia One park in the North Sea is more powerful of Iberdrola’s three other farm already generating in European waters. The company’s 1.4 GW East Anglia Three project is under construction, as is its 476MW Baltic Eagle venture off Germany.

Iberdrola is also building the USA’s first big marine turbine cluster, the 806 MW Vineyard Wind farm off Massachusetts.

Saint-Brieuc will outperform Ibedrola’s 389MW Duddon Sands park in the Irish Sea and the 350MW Wikinger farm in the Baltic.

Its 62 turbines, each rated at 8MW, is now feeding into the French grid, managed by RTE. The nuclear power of state-controlled EdF continues to dominate France’s electricity market, accounting for up to 78%.

Iberdrola provided all the €2.4 billion which Saint-Brieuc cost to build. Its development began in April 2012.

Construction of the wind farm has mobilised more than 1700 jobs in France, nearly a third of them in Brittany. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy built Saint-Brieuc’s turbines at its new industrial site in Le Havre.

Navantia Windar assembled the jacket foundations. Electrical contractors Haizea Breizh, also on the Brest polder, assembled the masts’ electrical equipment.

“We are particularly proud to announce the full commissioning of Saint-Brieuc, twelve years after we were named the bid’s winner, “said Emmanuel Rollin, Iberdrola’s director for France.

“The challenge for us, as a European leader in renewables, was to create the foundations of a sustainable industrial sector for French offshore wind power. We have worked hard to involve local companies in this project by supporting them in this fast-growing segment ,” said his colleague Stéphane-Alain Riou, director of offshore wind energy

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The only significant new step announced by the energy security secretary today, according to the lobbyists, concerns perceptions of accuracy in ranking the soil quality on agricultural land housing new racks of panels.

The government intends to strengthen such perceptions by means of more independent certification in land assessments sent by developers to planning authorities.  This measure is intended to help avoid disputes over which areas are subject to planning guidelines on higher quality agricultural land.

“Both Coutinho and the Prime Minister’s broader comments on food security appear to be directed at a small minority of anti-solar Conservative backbenchers, rather than decision-makers in local councils”, said Solar Energy UK in a statement released this afternoon.

“Solar farms take up a tiny fraction of the country. That will still be the case in 2035 when the government expects us to have four times current solar generation capacity”, said the industry body, citing the government’s April 2022 Energy Security Strategy, and a Carbon Brief evaluation later that year on solar farms’ impact on UK farmland.

“Solar farms are no threat to food security; they never have been and never will be. In fact, it’s the opposite,” said Solar Energy UK’s ‘roi soleil’, chief executive Chris Hewett.

“According to Defra, the main threat to food security is climate change, which is what solar farms are there to fight.”

“Without solar farms, hundreds of traditional farming businesses would have gone to the wall, unable to produce food without the security of a reliable income,” Hewett added.

Yesterday the government published the first release of Britain’s new official Food Security Index. The cost of energy to food producers was among key factors it identifies.

By the government’s own figures, the lobbyists claim, solar farms are the cheapest source of electricity, adding to their contribution to food security, to decarbonisation and thus to Britain’s broader national interests.

Advocates for solar farms say it is common for agriculture to continue in fields once panels are hooked up, typically through sheep grazing. Racks erected a metre and more above the soil also offer benefits to nature, such as providing shelter for wildlife and native flora, thus restoring natural habitats among intensively farmed ‘green deserts’.

Solar farms are demonstrably liked by their human neighbours, as consistently evidenced in Whitehall’s own surveys. Independent research in November by analysis firm Climate Barometer found that MPs & casual readers of newspapers vastly overestimate public opposition to farms’ introduction.

“The solar industry will continue to follow established principles”, the lobbyists’ statement went on. “(The industry) looks forward to the publication of the government-industry Solar Roadmap, which will light the way towards adding more than 50GW of solar capacity over the next decade”. The master plan is expected in coming weeks.

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Serving 20 million customers across London, southern England and east Anglia, the DNO says it has used the ‘Technical Issues’ collaborative programme between netcos to speed  up 25 new generation projects on its patch.

A total of 836MW of new capacity can now connect as soon as the projects are built, says the DNO, cutting waiting times in some cases by years.

As the netcos’ response to fury from developers facing connection delays in some cases of a decade or more, ‘Technical Issues’ works by offering solar-, wind-farm and battery hook-ups at supply nodes to lower voltage regional DNO grids, and before necessary reinforcements can be made to the NG’s higher voltage national transmission system.

Algorithmic routing then eases the likelihood of pinch points being overloaded at times of highest demand or highest generation, cutting the chances of wasteful, expensive ‘curtailment’ of the new assets’ output.

A relaxation of restrictive practices, in other words, while maintaining safety, and all achieved over what grid operators know as their Distributed Energy Resource Management (DERMS) platform.

UKN says it is also taking a ‘leading role’ in the Strategic Connections Group led by industry body the Energy Networks Association.

UKPN customers it cites as having benefitted from speedier connection offers include a 98MW solar farm in East Anglia and a 100MW combined storage and solar site in the South East.

They are among 14 projects in East Anglia totalling 465MW and a further 11 ventures in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, totalling 371MW. That volume of new generation amounts to roughly one fifth of the peak demand of the London distribution network.

Giles Frampton of developer Evolution Power said one of its solar farms can now connect four years earlier than planned.

“Working closely with UK Power Networks, we have been able to bring forward a solar PV project’s connection date by four years, which will significantly contribute to the UK’s progress towards Net Zero and Energy Security, whilst also driving down the cost of electricity for both domestic and industrial consumers”, said Frampton.

UKPN’s director of DSO Sotiris Georgiopoulos  said: “We’re taking real, tangible action to help our customers overcome the long-term challenges on the national transmission system, an approach that is ultimately going to get more green energy into more people’s homes and businesses.

“This is just another step on our journey, and it is only by co-operation and collaboration that we’re able to make such important strides towards achieving Net Zero.”

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As the world’s largest offshore windfarm in construction, Hornsea is expected to be operational by 2027. It will contribute toward the UK government’s goal of 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.

Over-bending, abrasion and fatigue of underwater cables present a challenge for offshore wind developers such as Ørsted. The patented system offered by Balmoral Comtec, a company in the Balmoral Group, uses materials designed to improve operational performance and increase resistance to mechanical fatigue.

The protection system locks together mechanically, removing a reliance on chemical bonding, notoriously unpredictable and problematic to validate over a field’s life.  The supplier says its technology guarantees market-leading strain and stiffness levels, unachievable through traditional component design.

Pictured on the left above, Balmoral Comtec’s projects director Fraser Milne said: “Hornsea 3 will be a vital project for the UK’s energy transition. We’re thrilled to play a role”.

Work will be carried out in the firm’s 250,000sq ft factor in Aberdeen, by members of Balmoral Group’s 650-strong workforce

“As windfarms and turbines expand in size, scale and complexity”, Milne went on”, our industry leading expertise, scalable manufacturing capability will be crucial as offshore wind developers and OEMs navigate these complex challenges.”

For Ørsted, its Hornsea 3 project director Luke Bridgman, said: “Hornsea 3 is a nationally-significant renewable energy project, providing low-cost, clean energy at scale.

“To successfully deliver an offshore windfarm of this magnitude, it’s vital that we draw on the extensive knowledge and expertise of our teams, contractors and suppliers. We look forward to working alongside Balmoral Comtec as we progress through the next stages of construction.”

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Currently headquartered in Billericay, Xlinks intends by 2029 to be importing into north Devon the first renewable energy from solar and wind farms in southern Morocco.

Once completed, Xlinks’ clean generation combined with battery storage is expected to supply 3.6GW of affordable, reliable power, meeting approximately 8% of Britain’s current electricity needs.

Its generation and batteries will be connected exclusively to Britain via twin 3,800km HVDC sub-sea cables.  Scotland’s government last year pledged £9 million to re-purpose Hunterston B, the defunct Ayrshire nuclear power station, as a factory making the cables.

Working to its mission “The Energy to Change the World”, Massachusetts-based GE Vernova Financial Services is GE’s recently formed investment division for energy projects.

It joins Octopus Energy as well as Octopus founder Greg Jackson, as investors in Xlinks. Other stakes include £25 million from Abu Dhabi’s national utilities managers TAQA, and participation by TotalEnergies.

GE Vernova was set up in 2022, following General Electric  announcing the previous November its intention to split into three publicly traded companies. The following year, GE named them as GE Vernova, GE HealthCare and GE Aerospace.

It has deployed what it calls “sizeable capital” into projects worldwide through development financing, direct equity investments, and capital raising from private & public financial institutions.

Scenarios constructed by Britain’s independent Climate Change Committee see UK electricity demand as potentially doubling by 2050, to 600 terawatt-hours. Against that background Britain’s government has acknowledged Xlinks’ potential.  D-ESNZ are developing an outline business case.

James Humfrey, CEO of Xlinks First, the megaproject’s financing arm, said: “Bringing in an investor of the calibre of GE Vernova represents a further strategic step in the Morocco–to-UK power project’s development, as we progress the project across several fronts.

“Xlinks is committed to meeting the UK’s need for reliable, affordable, zero-carbon energy while maximising the socio-economic benefits of the project in Morocco.”

For GE Vernova Financial Services, CEO Nomi Ahmad answered: “We are pleased to be part of the Morocco – UK Power Project, as collaboration across the energy sector is key to ensuring that more affordable, renewable energy is delivered to help meet the UK’s electrification demands and help the nation meet its net zero goals.”

INTEREST DECLARED: The author was educated close to Billericay.

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Greg Jackson’s bouncy renewables-to-heat pumps creation, privately held, gained more than 1.9 million net customers in the twelve months since March 2023, latest statistics from Ofgem reveal.

That rocket skywards puts the generator-retailer on a market share now of 22%, with 6.8 million households served.  Octopus was the only large energy supplier to increase its market share over the past year.

The company’s spokespeople say it is persuading more Brits than any of its rivals to switch away from existing suppliers.  Over the same period, the firm accepted more than 800,000 customers from other providers, equal to one account switched inbound every minute.

In a separate mass transfer, 1.3 million households moved over from Shell Energy Retail following Octopus’ takeover of the business in late 2023.

The figures mean Octopus is now officially the UK’s largest electricity supplier, only eight years after launching to the market.

Company spokespeople point to the brand’s popularity among its own customers. Octopus Energy comes out on top in almost every service ranking, including Which?, Trustpilot and Money Saving Expert. It is also the only energy supplier named as a Which? Recommended Provider for seven years in a row.

TIME Magazine has named Octopus as one of the world’s ‘100 Most Influential Companies’. Britain’s government recently featured it as a poster child for the country’s businesses in its ‘GREAT’ campaign, intended to attract foreign investmen.

After rapid worldwide expansion, including into Japan & Italy and investing in both European offshore wind and in Xlinks, the Morocco-to-Devon wind and solar mega-venture, Octopus says it is active in 18 countries, looking after almost 8 million households globally. It is also one of the largest investors in renewables in Europe, managing a portfolio worth £7 billion.

The technical core of Octopus’s success – its Kraken platform for billing, fulfilment and power trading – is now licensed to 54 million customer accounts across 16 countries. It is increasingly being adopted in other sectors such as water and broadband.

Pictured above with Kraken boss Deepak Ravindran, Octopus’ founder Greg Jackson commented: “We’ve invested relentlessly in outstanding people and technology to deliver better customer service and lower costs.  Today’s news shows that this works.

“I hope that we can inspire both entrepreneurs and existing companies”,  Jackson went on.

“By investing for the long-term, and by truly focusing on customers, they can deliver success for themselves and for those they serve.”

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A pilot programme launched today by partners The Crown Estate, the Department of Work & Pensions and the Offshore Wind Learning platform is designed to spin the wheel for offshore recruiters, by upskilling and empowering the DWP’s work coaches. The advisors can then direct jobseekers to burgeoning new career opportunities in the local offshore wind industry.

Eastern England looks out on around a half of Britain’s existing offshore wind farms. More are due.

The partners’ geographically focused pilot may be followed by national roll-out, ensuring local communities feel the benefits of Britain’s contested transition to more wealth-creating renewables and a greener economy for jobs.

Enduring skills shortages in green trades are a fly in ointment already polluted by decades of hydrocarbon-financed misinformation, science-denying newspapers relying on oilcos’ advertising and poor skills planning.

The Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) last year estimated its members would need to fill 70,000 new jobs this decade. Currently employing 32,000 people, marine turbine chiefs thus seek an average of 10,000 new workers every year to welcome into employment, just to support their pipelines of projects already identified.

Very flat, Norfolk

Coaching employment advisors in ten coastal or near-coastal Jobcentres from Skegness to Beccles and inland, is the partners’ method.

DWP focus groups in November highlighted the challenges wind power employers face, regarding perceptions of how to enter the industry, and career progression in it.

The research showed DWP staff knew about direct roles, such as turbine technicians and constructors. They knew less, said the research , about support roles offered by operators in administration & commercial management, including among suppliers who sell to turbine operators.

The research’s findings highlighted a need to “train the trainers”, working to improve the advisors’ confidence in advocating offshore wind jobs to dole claimants.

For The Crown Estate, sustainability director Judith Everett enthused: “We’re thrilled to launch this pilot raising awareness of the many exciting offshore wind career opportunities in East Anglia and Lincolnshire.

 “Though the UK is a global leader in offshore wind”, Everett went on, “the industry faces challenges in our workforce which must be addressed urgently to ensure the sector remains competitive in the face of international competition. Through the important work carried out by coaches in the Department for Work and Pensions, this initiative will shine a spotlight on the local employment opportunities within the industry.”

Lauren Little at offshore operator Ørsted said: “It’s fantastic to see big players in the industry highlight the need for talent to enter the offshore wind industry.

“This programme is perfectly suited to highlight the variety of roles within our industry– from technicians working on turbines to behind-the-scenes employees in administrative and support roles.”

For the DWP, partnership lead Roger Matthews added: “We are immensely proud to be partnering with The Crown Estate. This programme will equip DWP work coaches with insights and targeted training to drive growth in offshore wind employment, a sector vital to the UK’s efforts to transition to Net Zero.

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Attracted by Britain’s status as the world’s second biggest offshore wind market and a global leader in renewables development, JERA Nex – the acronym stands for ‘Japan New Era’ – has an ambition to develop 20GW of renewables worldwide by 2035, through selective acquisitions and partnerships.

Producing about 30% of all Japan’s electricity, the parent company JERA is a 50:50 joint venture formed in April 2015 by two electric leviathans, TEPCO Fuel & Power and Chubu Electric.

Tokyo Electric Power Company – TEPCO – is the firm responsible for the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, flooded by a tsunami in 2011.

JERA committed in 2020 to zero carbon generation by mid-century. Its developing renewables portfolio grew to 30GW last July, with the purchase of Parkwind, Belgium’s largest offshore wind platform.

Parkwind and other operating assets, plus JERA’s 10GW development pipeline, will be transferred to JERA Nex.

The new division’s aim is to leverage the UK’s expertise in financing and developing renewables projects, as well as drawing on our talent pool to develop capabilities in core markets.

The new division will be headed by Nathalie Oosterlinck, pictured, currently head of global renewables at the parent JERA.

She said: “With the launch of JERA Nex, we are bringing together passionate renewable energy people from across the world”.

“Our teams have already delivered pioneering offshore wind farms, from the Taiwan Strait to the North Sea, as well as leading several onshore projects across the world.”

Yukio Kani, the parent JERA’s chair and global CEO, said: “We have outlined a vision to reach zero emissions by 2050. The birth of JERA Nex plays a critical role in our strategic pillars for delivering that ambition.

“JERA Nex will enable us to draw upon expertise from across the world to develop renewable projects, forge partnerships, and build assets that contribute to a future of decarbonized energy with sustainability, affordability, and stability.”

The firm employs more than 300 renewable and energy industry experts.

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The company, a division of OEG Energy Group, has won a six-month contract from developer Scottish Power Renewables to locate and eliminate wartime whoopsies littering seabed soon to be occupied by the developers’ East Anglia 3 project.

Working from the 66-metre vessel Glomar Wave, Hughes Subsea’s team is tasked to hunt down and eliminate unexploded ordinance littering the 300 square kilometre seabed of the proposed park.

With its subsea robots and its highly trained, very careful divers, Hughes will find, investigate and dispose of remaining mines laid eighty years ago to defend England’s coast.  Still active bombs jettisoned by the Luftwaffe or by US & RAF planes returning to East Anglian airfields will also be on the professionals’ hit list.

Maritime archaeologists are enlisted to handle historic findings. Marine mammal observers will support the monitoring of wildlife, including seals.

Located 70 kilometres off Great Yarmouth, East Anglia 3 will when complete comprise as many as 100 turbines towering 260 metres above the North Sea.  Nearly 150 kilometres of cables will link the finished venture’s structures and a marine converter station.

The venture has a rated capacity of 1.4GW, capable of making clean electricity for more than a million homes.

Hughes Subsea boss Mike Bailey explained his firm and OEGR are leaders in the highly specialist field of surveying, identifying and responsibly clearing confirmed UXOs.

“We are very much looking forward to working with ScottishPower Renewables on EA3”, Bailey added.

“As a responsible developer, safety is our number one concern”,  responded Matt Wooltorton, construction manager for East Anglia THREE.

“Our priority is to minimise the potential impact of any unexploded ordnance on both the seabed and sealife around our windfarm while we deliver more clean energy to the grid.”

Foundation laying for East Anglia 3 could start later this year.  Public engagement on the project began in November 2012, and it was consented in 2017.

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The deal sees Octopus’ Sky fund (ORI SCSp) take a 50% stake of Lintas Green Energy, an Oldenburg-based experienced and fast-growing green energy developer to accelerate their growth across the country.

The investment will help build new wind and solar farms, targeting 1 GW by 2030 – enough clean energy to power 370,000 German homes.

Lintas has already built green energy projects in areas like Lower Saxony. The state last year covered 100% of its electricity demand from its own renewable generation for the first time.

The developer currently has more than 20 green energy projects in its fast-growing pipeline across several more states, including Hesse, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt.

Octopus’ funding will enable it to expand further and form energy supply deals to help energy-intensive businesses decarbonise their operations.

The news comes as Octopus ramps up its renewables activity in Germany, with plans to channel more than €1 billion into the country’s clean energy infrastructure by 2027.

Octopus entered Germany’s renewables market in June 2022 and has rapidly accelerated its projects. This is Octopus’ 8th investment in the market and follows hot on the heels of its acquisition of Schiebsdorf solar farm, the largest solar farm in its portfolio.

Octopus is also partnering with major German corporations to help them cut emissions. Just last month it struck a deal with one of the country’s largest steel producers, Salzgitter Group, to supply it with solar energy for the production of green steel.

Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management business, said: “Germany has been a leader of the global ‘Energiewende’ since the 80s. We’re proud to be able to help the country speed up this transition by backing green projects and developers that are driving a cleaner, cheaper future.

“This latest deal with Lintas Green Energy is our 8th renewables deal in Germany and our first investment in a company creating new green power – and it won’t be our last.”

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James Humfrey, pictured, has 25 years’ experience in leading complex international projects, most recently with state hydrocarbon firm ADNOC in Abu Dhabi. There he led project and business development including the establishment of a new $25 billion chemical park.

Humfrey also led ADNOC’s New Energies Division, developing the region’s first world scale blue ammonia plant and CCS pilot. He also delivered the acquisition of a stake in Masdar, the Emirati-owned renewables generator with a 20GW portfolio.  Humfrey pioneered the formation of Masdar Green Hydrogen, as well as serving as a director of the firm’s Infineum offshoot.

Xlinks co-founder Simon Morrish will continue as group CEO, working hand-in-hand with Humfrey on the scheme’s development. He remains responsible for key strategic relationships and growing Xlinks’ portfolio of projects.

Morrish founded Xlinks in 2019, spearheading the concept and development of the project linking southern Morocco to its intended landfall in north Devon.

Xlinks is being designed to generate 11.5GW of zero-carbon power from southern Morocco’s sun and wind, delivering 3.6GW of reliable electricity to Britain alone for an average of 19 hours every day.

Power will run through 4,000km of high voltage DC subsea cables cables run under the sea bed.  Once complete, the project will be capable of supplying 8% of Great Britain’s electricity needs.

With commissioning set for the end of this decade, the project’s backers intend its low-cost, clean power will flow to over 7 million British homes.

With a capital budget of £16 Billion, the venture’s investors include global energy brands such as TotalEnergies, the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Britain’s Octopus Energy.

Stabilising intermittency from Xlinks’ unprecedented renewables capacity, an onsite 22.5GWh/5GW battery will provide storage to guarantee near-constant flows of flexible and predictable clean energy into the National Grid.

“I’m delighted that James has joined us to lead and grow a world-class team to deliver our ambitious vision“, said Morrish.  “We have other markets that are excited to harness the enormous benefits that long distance HVDC connectors can deliver to help solve the intermittency of renewables.

Humfrey said: “Joining Xlinks First as CEO is a fantastic opportunity to lead the first-of-its-kind Morocco – UK Power Project in achieving its goal to deliver a near constant, clean and affordable supply of electricity to the UK. This will play a key role in the Morocco and UK’s future prosperity.

Sir Dave Lewis, executive chairman of the Billericay-based developer, added : “James Humfrey brings a wealth of expertise in delivering large complex energy projects to Xlinks, along with experience of working with major global investors in the industry.

”James’ appointment will allow our Founder and Group CEO, Simon Morrish, to focus on developing future energy projects to boost the global grid and help meet global net-zero targets.”

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