The post SSE partners with developers to transform defunct Welsh coal plant appeared first on theenergyst.com.
]]>The Aberthaw plant, located five miles from Barry, closed as a generator in March 2020. CCR City Deal, ultimately owned by ten local authorities, purchased it two years later from RWE, and set up CCR Energy, now chaired by a south Wales councillor.
The developer’s mission is to demolish, clear and clean the site in readiness for redevelopment. The parties intend it as an exemplar for secure green energy production, with the potential to create thousands of jobs.
The partners believe redeveloping the site provides spectacular opportunities regionally across south Wales.
Aberthaw, they say, squares well with their commitments to decarbonise energy, while supporting low-carbon jobs and delivering a financial boost for local communities.
SSE Energy’s commercial director Carl Davies said “We aspire to be the UK’s leading provider of local clean energy infrastructure. This agreement with CCR Energy means that we can work together to deliver innovative green projects, create good green jobs and create social value in Aberthaw and across South East Wales.
Under the pair’s memorandum of understanding SSE will invest in advanced technologies for power networks, heating and cooling systems, EV charging and energy management, generation and storage. These will provide the template for future growth, bringing confidence that south Wales can meet the demands of what the parties are calling Industry 4.0.
Born from the CCR City Deal, CCR Energy styles itself as a private development company currently focusing on the plant’s remediation and regeneration. Committed to helping the region thrive, it intends offering a new green energy-enabled development platform, inspiring innovation and supporting the creation of next generation employment opportunities.
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]]>The post Cancel coal-ture: “Pay customers, not coal burners”, Octopus tells NG appeared first on theenergyst.com.
]]>At a cost reported at over £60,000, the nation‘s backbone operator this week asked coal-fired generators to warm up furnaces in case additional power is needed during the current heatwave to run air-conditioning systems.
Over last winter, the NG paid furnace operators up to £395 million to ensure a coal-fired reserve, guarding Britain against cold snaps.
But renewables generator-supplier Octopus says its experience indicates a better, dramatically cheaper route to meet demand. Consumers incentivised to shift loads by a few hours could, if scaled up from the supplier’s recent trials, have achieved the same effect for only £100 million, or a quarter of NG’s bill, the supplier argues.
In new analysis, Octopus extrapolates that as much 2.1GW of consumer-provided flex can be obtained nationwide, if bill-payers are educated and paid to provide it.
The paper analyses results from ‘Saving Sessions,’ Octopus’ own flex scheme. It recruited 700,000-plus Octopus customers with smart meters to take part over last winter.
Together, the customer base shifted 1.9GWh of electricity out of peak times, the equivalent of stopping about 2 million washing machine runs.
Scaling up Octopus’ results to all 17.3 million UK homes with smart meters would shift over 2.1GW of demand enough – argues the supplier – to supplant coal as a backup source.
The top 5% of ‘Saving Sessions’ participants earned over £40 during the trial. Around 96% of customers surveyed said they’re willing to participate in repeat schemes.
Thousands of customers chose to donate their earnings from the trials to ‘Octo Assist’, Octopus Energy’s financial hardship fund. Together they donated more than £170,000 to customers struggling with their bills.
Alex Schoch, Octopus’ head of flexibility, commented: “We’ve shown the potential of consumer flexibility. Now it’s time to roll it out across the UK and end our reliance on expensive, dirty coal power.
“Over the winter we saw how our future green grid would work. We’ve proven that households can balance the grid and be part of the movement away from fossil fuels.
“We’re still in a cost of living crisis. It’s crazy to pay coal power plants when we could pay hard-pressed customers instead.”
Read Octopus’ white paper here.
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]]>The post Campaigners secure High Court hearing against Whitehaven coal mine appeared first on theenergyst.com.
]]>In December levelling-up secretary Michael Gove granted the West Cumbria Mining company planning permission to proceed. The venture, to be located near Whitehaven, is mooted as producing coke with a low-carbon content for UK steel production.
Friends of the Earth & local protest group South Lakes Action on Climate Change appealed, arguing that the minister’s decision paid no heed to the plant’s likely climate impacts. Their appeal was granted last week in Kendal.
In a procedural move, the High Court ruled that, instead of convening a hearing this week on whether to proceed to a full trial, their cases will now be heard at what’s known as a ‘rolled up’ hearing.
In practice, say the protest groups, this is the same as a trial. It will last for three days and is likely to take place in the summer or autumn.
SLACC and Friends of the Earth contend that Mr Gove failed to account for the significant climate impacts of the mine, including the acceptability of carbon credits to offset the mine’s emissions, the international precedent that opening a new mine would set and the impact of opening the mine on the global coal market.
Objectors to the Whitehaven coking mine are encouraged by reports that another hearing due next month before the Supreme Court could set a precedent for the legality of approving new fossil fuel developments.
That challenge, relating to onshore oil extraction at Horse Hill, Surrey, is due to take place on 21 June, with the company behind the Cumbrian mine registering itself as an interested party.
Maggie Mason of SLACC said: “This is a positive and sensible decision. Having looked at the submitted papers, the Court has decided it is worth scheduling a three-day hearing on SLACC and Friends of the Earth’s legal challenges.
“SLACC members and supporters will observe the Finch versus Surrey County Council Hearing in June, and hope that the death and destruction caused by burning oil and gas will, in future, be taken into account before any new mines and oil wells are given planning permission.”
Friends of the Earth spokesperson Tony Bosworth said: “We’re delighted the court agrees that our legal challenge against this mine deserves to be heard”.
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]]>The post NG-ESO puts coal plants on standby again tonight, as suppliers prep DSR cash for load-shifters appeared first on theenergyst.com.
]]>Two of Drax’s two remaining coal-furnaces are reportedly being ‘warmed’ up at Selby today, as is one turbine at EDF’s West Burton plant on the River Trent, following requests yesterday from the nation’s backbone power transmitter.
The requests comply with the winter contingency contract, which the operator sealed last summer with Britain’s last two generators to use coal.
NG-ESO is also engaging retailers to implement load shifting tonight, asking them to pay customers for a second time as much as £3 per kWh foregone to turn down home heat and reschedule other power-intensive applications such as cooking in electric ovens in the hour after 5pm.
The grid first enacted DSR in December, following successful trials of its flexible response offering among 26 licensed suppliers. Uptake then from volunteer households was big enough to avoid extra generation by coal.
Windless skies caused by high pressure stationary over the country for several days are behind the detour back to a possible partial resort to coal. Wind power dropped yesterday to only 6.89 GW, or around 18% of all electricity consumed.
Averaged over all of 2022, wind power accounted for 26.8% of UK consumption. On 10 January this year, British wind farms set a new record, producing 21.69GWh in one day.
“Our forecasts show electricity supply margins are expected to be tighter than normal on Monday evening,” the ESO announced over the weekend.
“We have instructed coal-fired power units to be available to increase electricity supplies should it be needed tomorrow evening.
“This does not mean electricity supplies are at risk and people should not be worried. These are precautionary measures to maintain the buffer of spare capacity we need.”
Today’s hiatus comes as UK generation becomes ever greener. December saw over half of our electricity originating from zero-carbon sources. According to ESO, 30 December saw a new record high, with a peak of 87.2% of electricity coming from zero-carbon sources in one day.
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