The government is approaching international nuclear builders & operators for another try at reviving nuclear generation on the island. Britain purchased the site this year from Hitachi for £160 million, after the Japanese firm in September 2020 cut its losses of £2 billion, incurred over its twelve years of attempting revive nuclear generation on the island.

Hitachi had intended to build two advanced boiling water reactors (ABWRs), with a combined capacity of 3GW on a site to the south of the existing Wylfa complex. The company’s plans foundered for reasons including concerns about a Contracts for Difference funding model of their venture.

in December 2015 the second of Wylfa’s two earlier Magnox reactors, each capable of 0.49GW, were shut down, forty four years after the plant was first commissioned.

This morning’s statement by energy secretary Claire Coutinho hails the Wylfa decision as part of the Sunak government’s biggest expansion of British nuclear generation for 70 years. Quadrupling the source before mid century by up to 24GW will be achieved through a mix of large-scale traditional plants and small modular reactors, which are quicker to build, said the minister.

A revived Wylfa will fall in the same supra-3GW capacity bracket as Hinkley Point C and the planned Sizewell C.

The government’s development entity Great British Nuclear, tasked with delivering the world’s fastest small modular reactor competition, recently secured Wylfa and Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire as possible sites for new nuclear projects. It was the first time the government acquired land for nuclear since the 1960s.

“Anglesey has a proud nuclear history. It’s only right that, once again, it can play a central role in boosting the UK’s energy security”, Coutinho declared.  Wylfa would contribute clean reliable power to millions of homes, she claimed, adding that it could create thousands of well-paid jobs.

Her cabinet colleagu Welsh secretary David TC Davies added: “Alongside the revival of Wylfa, recent measures we have announced include a freeport for Anglesey, £17 million in Levelling Up money for Holyhead and electrification of the North Wales rail line. These show that the UK government continues to deliver for Anglesey and for North Wales”.

Sam Richards, CEO of regeneration lobbyists Britain Remade, added: “News that Wylfa is a preferred site for a new gigawatt scale power station will come as a huge relief to local islanders who are crying out for a new reactor”.

“It’s critical that the planning red-tape that has slowed down building Hinkley Point C, and added huge costs, are quickly addressed by government.

“With the announcement of new nuclear at Wylfa, the case for a third Menai crossing is stronger than ever. The governments in Westminster and Cardiff should now work together to deliver.”

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The company that provides regional power service to London, the South East, and the East, says safety is always its Number One priority.

Ahead of  the United Nations’ World Day for Safety and Health at Work this Sunday, UKPN says it continues to keep safety at the forefront of the minds of those working close to the electricity network, including contractors, suppliers and technicians outside the company.

Working closely with haulage & construction operators, farmers, landowners and agricultural workers and the emergency services, UK Power Networks’ public safety team engages as many people as possible to highlight the risks of working around the network.

Through partnerships, face-to-face events and communications that include magazines, social media and trade newsletters, the company continues to reach all relevant trades to make sure workers know how to access underground cable plans, safety information and are aware of the risks involved.

In addition to working with industries the public safety team also work with young people highlighting the importance of knowledge and education around electricity, and its inherent dangers.

Free resources are available to the public such as “Think Before You Dig” and “Look Out, Look Up” flyers, stickers and even air fresheners adorned with safety information.

From UKPN’s public safety team, Rosalind Forbes said: “Since the start of 2023, the public safety team have engaged with hundreds of thousands of people.

“Our safety campaigns promote safe behaviours and encourage the sharing of information and knowledge, highlighting the potential risks of working around the electricity network and the importance of planning every job.

“In addition to this we have free resources available to the public such as ‘Think Before You Dig’ and “Look Out, Look Up” stickers, leaflets and films that support safe working.”

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Accountable to its 700,000 members, Midcounties Co-operative calculates that connecting PV arrays at 29 of its sites stands to save it around £180,000 per year, through generation of 5 million kWh of low carbon electricity.

Sam Webb, pictured, the manager of Midcounties’ Your Co-op store in Lydney, Gloucestershire had the brainwave of introducing his employers to The Big Solar Co-op, in support of the Society’s efforts to generate more green energy.

The site-specific solar generation initiated by Sam is forecast to meet around 5% of Midcounties’ annual power use. In line with the society’s goal of cutting out 40% of its direct green house gas emissions before 2026, the manager’s initiative also stops 290 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere.

Besides supermarkets, Midcounties’ head office on Warwick’s Technology Park, pictured, will also receive PV arrays, as will its premises promoting travel services and childcare.

The society is a leading supporter of community energy in the UK. It has established partnerships with more than 270 renewable community energy projects nationwide through Younity, the society’s joint venture with Octopus Energy.

The Big Solar Co-op, a volunteer-led, not-for-profit social enterprise, wants to install 100MW of community solar projects this decade. The agreement with Midcounties allows both co-operatives to deepen further their commitment to energy generation undertaken by locally-focused community organisations.

Midcounties Co-operative’s head of sustainability Mike Pickering said: “The partnership between ourselves and Big Solar Coop demonstrates the power of co-operation in driving positive change.

“By integrating solar power generation into our operations, we not only reduce our carbon footprint, but also further our commitment to building a fairer, more sustainable and ethical future.

The Big Solar link complements Midcounties’ achievement to boost energy efficiency at its premises, which has cut 11% from its energy use in only twelve months.   It has budgeted a further £800,000 in similar measures this year

The Midcounties Co-op is fully owned by its 700,000 members.  It operates a collection of Your Co-op businesses, including more than 230 Your Co-op Food stores across the West Midlands, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Nationwide it also trades under Your Co-op brands covering travel, childcare, broadband and mobile telecoms and energy provision.

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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 National Grid-ESO’s plans, costed in its ‘Beyond 2030’ manifesto at £58 Billion over the coming decade, are the biggest transformation of country-spanning transmission & distribution grids since they first emerged in the 1950s.

Carrying new wind-generated power from marine farms concentrated off the east coast to urban centres of heaviest demand requires delivering an ‘electrical spine’, running from landing points in Aberdeenshire down to demand hot spots in England’s North West, the report outlines.

Three quarters of the new grid investment will be made at sea, the document discloses. Three new subsea links to North Sea wind farms, including Hornsea 3, the world’s largest at 2.9GW, will be built, the operator intends.

But new pylons and transformers onshore threatening rural views look likeliest to spur resistance from objectors.

Heavyweight grid upgrades & extensions are seen as essential if the UK is to bring online the 50GW of offshore wind capacity the government is targeting by 2030, en route to delivering on its goal of a fully decarbonised grid by 2035.

The projected £58 billion tag is a quantum leap beyond the £9 billion the National Grid currently budgets now in its Great Grid Upgrade. That programme is tasked to remove existing transmission bottlenecks over the next two years.

The ESO needs to take ‘swift, co-ordinated & lasting action” if Britain is to meet its longer term decarbonisation goals, the body’s executive director Fintan Slye told the Sunday Times at the weekend.

Accommodating new capacity from offshore wind, interconnectors, and nuclear power will all generate more electricity than the networks are currently able to transport, the National Grid said.

Regional imbalances dot the nation’s infrastructure. Scotland, famously ‘the Saudi Arabia of wind power’, generates at present around 15GW, but uses no more than 5GW even on winter’s coldest days.

Endorsing the plans, a National Grid statement hailed them as recognising the need for networks to be delivered at pace, “unlocking a more affordable and resilient decarbonised electricity system in the UK”.

“We now look forward to working with the System Operator, with government and with Ofgem on the further development needed to progress these reinforcements”, a Grid spokesperson added, “and to move towards creating a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, coupled with a consentable Centralised Strategic Network Plan.

“That will sets out what energy infrastructure needs to be built, where and when, to deliver a capacity-rich, future-ready network that will serve society and underpin economic growth,” the Grid’s statement noted.

The plans will now receive comment from industry stakeholders and Ofgem.  Network operators and generators will develop work up through recommendations further through a Detailed Network Design Phase.

The process involves testing alternative on- and offshore answers, further developing cable routing and technology choices.

Industry stakeholders welcomed the ESO’s intentions. ​​​​From analysts Cornwall Insight, Tom Faulkner commented: “The ESO lays out the essential grid investments required to keep pace with the escalating electricity demand

“The 2035 forecasts for wind and solar capacity outlined in the report are notably ambitious compared to Cornwall’s current estimates”, Faulkner went on. “Achieving these targets will demand substantial investment, not only in grid infrastructure but also in the renewable generation assets themselves.

From pro-growth campaigners Britain Remade, founder Sam Richards observed: “If Britain wants an abundant supply of secure domestic energy that cannot be used as an economic weapon by autocratic regimes, then we need to continue to invest in offshore wind and the critical infrastructure needed to move the energy around the country.

“Investing in clean energy is not just good for the environment, it’s good for the economy. From Aberdeen to Teesside and Ramsgate the offshore wind industry has already created tens of thousands of well-paid jobs with even more to come”.

Reforms to ‘Britain’s glacial planning system’ were essential though to slash delays in permitting offshore wind farms built”, Richards added

“It’s mind boggling that it can take up to 13 years to build an offshore wind farm despite construction of the actual turbines only taking two years”.

Read NG-ESO’s ‘Beyond 2030’ in full here.

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Renewables supplied more than 40% of Britain’s electricity demand, their highest share for the third quarter of the year on record. This made it the lowest carbon quarter on record, with emissions falling below 150 g/kWh for the first time ever.

Last quarter’s generation mix produced an average of just 143 grams of CO₂ per kWh. This is the first time that the milestone of 150 g/kWh has been beaten over a quarter and comes more than three years since this record was last broken, during the COVID lockdowns of early 2020.

The findings are published during the COP28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates and are part of the latest instalment of the quarterly Drax Electric Insights report. The publication is an independent report by academics from Imperial College London commissioned through Imperial Consultants, linked to Imperial College in London.

Imperial’s Dr Iain Staffell, lead author of the quarterly Drax Electric Insights series, said: “This is a milestone moment in the UK’s decarbonisation journey, getting our carbon emissions down by more than two-thirds in just a decade is a real achievement.

“With our renewable capacity continuing to grow, we should see more clean power records broken in the coming years. However, the long-term picture is more complicated, and it is vital that government continues to explore how to unlock investment in clean energy technologies.

“The rise in electric vehicles and heat pumps will push up electricity demand. We need to build more renewables of all types and kick-start negative emissions technologies, to not just keep pace with demand growth, but continue growing the share of clean energy and keep carbon emissions falling.”

One of the most striking illustrations of Britain’s changing power grid is the decline of coal. New analysis by Drax Electric Insights has found in the 12 months to October 2023, coal supplied less than 1% of Britain’s electricity for the first time ever. The country’s last remaining coal-fired power station will be retired next year as part of the Government’s commitment to end the use of the fuel in electricity production by October 2024.

 Britain’s move away from coal took shape over the last decade. A combination of air quality regulations, increasing carbon prices, and converting coal plants to run on biomass meant that Britain’s coal output fell by over 40% per year in the five years to 2020. In contrast, the share of electricity from coal has remained almost static in China, India, and Japan since 2015.

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Weekly output of as much two tonnes of fuel grade green hydrogen is targeted for sale into AFC Energy’s UK H-Power Generator deployments. The firm has also secured initial distribution for the cracker, signing a letter of intent with a large European energy company, unnamed in today’s announcement.

Hydrogen is seen as a key stepping stone in vastly stepping up the power production essential to electrifying industrial processes which currently burn fossil fuels.

AFC’s ammonia cracker trial is to be located at an undisclosed location in the UK.  Ammonia feedstock will be provided from the Rotterdam plant of partner OCI Global.

Ammonia’s well-established global supply chains are a major advantage as as a hydrogen carrier fuel, AFC believes.   A string of mobile cracker plants such as trialled by the firm holds out potential to remedy a major weakness for the technology, its current lack of commercially available ammonia cracking technologies.

Based at Dunsfold, Surrey, AFC has production partnerships spanning Europe.  High profile clients for its off-grid carbon-stripped power include Spanish construction giant Acciona and the Extreme E offroad e-mobility racing series.

The firm cites a forecast from technology advocates the Hydrogen Council that 400 out of the 660 million tonnes of hydrogen needed every year for carbon neutrality by 2050 will be transported over long distances. The same source says approximately 45% of that figure will be sourced from ammonia, a compound of hydrogen and nitrogen.

AFC Energy says its cracker system will consume a fraction of the power consumed by electrolysers, the alternative method of making green hydrogen from water.  Yoking mobile fuel cells to distributed ammonia crackers will free up and expand fuel cells’ use in refuelling electric trucks or re-charging batteries of ships converted to electric propulsion.

Nine months of work this year have gone into building and calibrating the demonstrator, says the company. Tests in the new year will attempt hydrogen output of up to 99.7% purity.

Re-packaging the pilot onto a containerised platform will also be a priority.   Success there will enable AFC to market a standalone product, capable of being sold to hydrogen consumers.

AFC’s chief executive Adam Bond said:  “With an ammonia cracker offering market leading efficiency, low power consumption and the production of fuel cell grade hydrogen, AFC Energy’s first pilot project is a major step forward in unlocking the barriers of hydrogen logistics and transport.

“The cracker system, in containerised form, will be capable of replication across Europe and Asia with our ability to generate low cost, decarbonised hydrogen from internationally traded green and blue ammonia being a key step forward in the evolution of the global hydrogen market.”

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The Planning Inspectorate, Whitehall’s body overseeing new strategic infrastructure, must have an explicit remit towards Net Zero, says the all-party Nuclear Energy Parliamentary Group.

The PI has in the past turned down development of both Wylfa and Sizewell C,  on what the committee brands ‘minor environmental technicalities’.   The PI and related approval bodies must be adequately resourced to meet ‘the urgent need for more clean energy’, say the MPs.

They set out their steps to boost next generation atom-splitting in Made In Britain: The Pathway to a Nuclear Renaissance.  The report’s recommendations are angled to ensure the UK meets government targets for 24GW from the source by 2030.  A roadmap is expected from government before January.

The remit of Great British Nuclear, the public industry body advocated by Rishi Sunak’s administration, is central to the MPs’ recommendations.   They question uncertainties lingering around it, including the extent of its ownership or control of nuclear sites, whether it will apply for or hold individual operating licences, and how it will source funds for the industry.

The body will need to draw on ‘dozens’ of new small modular reactors (SMRs), part-assembled in factories, to secure nuclear’s clean generation potential, the study says. Rolls Royce leads advocates for the stripped-down models, pictured, adapted from its own submarine engines.

National Planning Statements touching on new nuclear must be rapidly updated and adopted, the APPG adds.

Reacting to present government intentions, the report notes Sunak’s pledge to reach a final investment decision for Sizewell C before the next general election, and for two other as-yet-unidentified projects to reach the same stage before 2029.  Even that timeline, in the committee’s view, will “leave Britain 21 years, 12GW and billions of pounds short of our ambition”.

The MPs urge the government to commit to giving GBN the funds to take equity shares in SMR-scale projects as required.

The prevailing regulated asset base (RAB) model, combined with direct equity investment via the Treasury or arms-length public bodies, should be established as the government’s preferred funding model for future projects, they recommend.

Assigning development SMR sites to technology partners as early as March next year will help preserve British technologists’ lead over in stripped-down generation, says the committee, reflecting the view of its sponsors among nuclear operators and manufacturers.

Plans to revive the Wylfa site, closed since 2015, foundered three years ago when Hitachi pulled out of funding new technology.  Selecting the right generation method and appropriate investors for the venture is more urgent than ever, say the MPs.

The site on Anglesea is the best in Europe for a large-scale nuclear plant and “thus ideal for realising the fleet effect of multi-unit replication”.   The government must buy both the site and rights to Hitachi’s proprietary generation technology, in order to fulfil the plot’s potential, says the committee.

Full text of the report is here.

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Under it, UK and US scientists will come together to address technical challenges and share nuclear fusion research and development facilities.

Nuclear fusion involves heating two light hydrogen nuclei to extreme temperatures, causing them to combine into a large nucleus that releases heat to generate electricity.

Fusion differs from the more conventional fission, where a heavy nucleus is split into two larger ones. Fusion is considered safer than than its forerunner, because fission produces big quantities of toxic, long-lasting nuclear waste needing great care in its handling. Waste concerns have triggered protests against nuclear power in the UK.

Bowie said: “International collaboration is key for advancing fusion and achieving our ambition of getting a commercial fusion reactor grid-ready by 2040. The UK and the US are world leaders in this technology, and pooling our resources will unlock new private sector investment.”

This is the first formal international fusion collaboration since the launch of the UK Government’s £650m ($794m) Fusion Futures Programme in October. The programme aims to train labour in the practice of fusion technology and accelerate the development of the industry.

In addition to this funding, the government previously allocated £700m to UK fusion energy programmes for the period 2022–25.

The fusion programme is part of the wider Great British Nuclear policy launched in March. Nuclear is thought to play an important role in the UK’s goal of sourcing 95% of its electricity from “low-carbon” sources. The government is aiming for 25% of the country’s energy to come from nuclear sources by 2050.

From the MAST-U tokamak in Oxfordshire to the DIII-D tokamak in California, American and British institutions have long collaborated on fusion research. The new partnership goes further and builds on the UK’s Fusion Strategy. It will:

• bring together scientists and engineers from the UK and US to address the technical challenges of delivering commercially viable fusion energy
• allow shared access for facilities and stimulate new R&D opportunities
• standardise international regulatory frameworks and codes of practice
• develop resilient supply chains for fusion materials to support the industry long-term promote skills development for a robust talent pool in the coming decade

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As the Sunak government equivocates over the nation’s green future, approves fossil fuel jobs from the Rosebank oilfield and defends motorists from an imaginary “war”, young people appear from E.on’s research already to be following a vision which the nation’s departing leaders lack.

E.on asked market research firm 3Gem 2023 to quiz 2,000 young adults on their training intentions as they enter Britain’s workforce.

School leavers are questioning the need to go to university, with two in three  – 66% – telling E.on’s researchers the cost of traditional higher education is too high.  Forty-four per cent believe a degree apprenticeship is the best path to starting a green career.

A majority of school leavers – or 60% of 16-18 year olds – want to go straight into employment to get a head start in their career, the researchers found.

The energy supplier’s study is confirmed by official figures. UCAS, the body supervising university & college admissions, found this year that 430,000 students expressed an interest in apprenticeships, a 180% increase since 2021.

Young people are increasingly making the link between their personal environmental credibility and the way they earn their living.  51% told E.on’s researchers they know their personal climate actions will be scrutinised if they work in a green role.   Seven in 10 state they’re look for such employment so they can play their part in taking climate action.

Misconceptions linger, though.  Two in five young adults believe green jobs must take place in outside in nature (40%) or think green jobs don’t pay very well (39%).

German-based E.on released the research as it sought to publicise its own UK apprenticeship schemes.  It currently has almost 200 new learners working on over 50 different schemes in skills covering engineering, project management and supply chain leadership, as well as skills in customer service, accountancy, HR, legal and cyber security.

E.on UK boss Chris Norbury commented: “It’s incredibly positive that young people are actively looking to build a green career and are keen to join organisations that are focused on helping people become more sustainable.

“Industries working towards Net Zero are already creating thousands of exciting new jobs that deliver personal and professional fulfilment for people all over the UK”, Norbury went on.

Degree apprenticeships – where people earn as they learn within an organisation while undertaking a degree which is paid for by their employer – are increasingly appealing to young Brits.

Almost half – 48% – of young people believe a degree apprenticeship is the best path to starting a green career after school, compared to just 29% who think traditional higher education such as university would help them secure a green job.

Careers expert Helen Tupper, author of ‘The Squiggly Career’ and co-founder of the ‘Amazing If’ podcast, added: “There’s no longer a default for what ‘good’ career development looks like. That means younger generations have more freedom to progress their careers in ways that work for them.

“Apprenticeships are a great example of how Millennials and Gen Z are beginning to determine their own development, allowing them to learn quickly and develop their skills in a variety of roles”,  Tupper advised.

With sustainability and climate considerations high on the agenda for younger generations, apprenticeships within organisations that are focused on these areas are helping people to combine their purpose with their progression.”

The post Nearly half of teens plan to skip uni & seize green job instead, E.on finds appeared first on theenergyst.com.

ENW’s Embedded Capacity Register is a database giving an overview of distributed energy resources such as bigger solar roofs & fields, AD plant, and wind and hydro generators. Grid-compatible batteries also feature.

The expanded register now includes connections that have a rated capacity of 50 kilowatts or above. Previously the threshold for disclosure had been 1MW.

Developed through an Open Networks project sponsored by the Energy Networks Association, the resource has immediate value, says ENW, for its potential partners, from battery investors to clean power generators.

It lists information on the location, capacity, and technology type of all distributed generation and DSR resources connected to Electricity North West’s network.

So, who follows?

The database serves  to provide prospective and connected customers with a better visibility of distributed energy resources already hooked up to the network.

Used in conjunction with resources  as Electricity North West’s GIS heat map tool, its network development plan or policies on long-term development, it afford stakeholders clear sight of opportunities or constraints in the connections landscape.  More valuable yet, it displays transparency on activity – or the lack of its – in the DNO’s  connections queue. Better-informed decisions by stakeholders should result.

“We are committed to providing open and transparent data,” said Ian Povey, Electricity North West DSO data manager.

“The expansion of our embedded capacity register to include resources below 1MW will help to support the growth of distributed energy resources in our region and provide valuable insights into how these resources can be used to balance the grid.”

The expanded register can be accessed on the company’s recently launched data portal. This includes interactive maps, downloadable spreadsheets, and API access. ENW promises consistency for developers and other market participants when accessing the data.

Ian added: “The new data portal makes it easy for users to find the information they need, we encourage people to explore the portal and to let us know what they think.”

To secure access, visit ENW’s data portal here.

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Lingering EU money from the European Regional Development Fund contributes a chunk of the cash, aiding one of England’s heaviest Brexit-voting regions.

Power Roll’s solar film is billed as capable of producing “ultra-low-cost” green electricity.

Made at a pilot plant opened last year on Durham County Council’s Jade Business Park, the rolls are claimed to be cheaper to produce than existing flexible solar PV technologies.

The firm’s light-sensitive product is suitable for coating buildings & rooftops, including ones too weak or poorly shaped to bear conventional modules made of glass and aluminium. Uses on vehicles, on portable applications and for off-grid projects are also supported, says the manufacturer.

Glasgow-based investors Maven led a consortium of mainly public investors in Power Roll’s latest funding round. Since 2020, the Scots have invested £2.75 million in the Wearside pioneers.

The latest transaction comprises two investments from Maven-managed regional funds, a £750,000 investment from the North East Development Capital Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, and a £250,000 investment from the Finance Durham Fund, established by Durham County Council and overseen by Business Durham.

Maven’s investment manager Michael Dickens enthused: “We have been pleased to witness the development, technical and commercial milestones Power Roll has achieved with its disruptive solar film technology.

Solar is expected to be the fastest-growing energy sub-segment worldwide this year, with global solar equipment production expected to exceed $220 billion.

That’s the way to Makkem

Power Roll’s managing director Neil Spann said: “Maven shares our vision for the future. Our mission is to revolutionise solar energy powering a global rooftop solar revolution from here in County Durham.

“Our solar film has the potential to generate solar energy from the billions of square metres of rooftops where the heavy and rigid silicon panels manufactured in China cannot be deployed.”

Cllr James Rowlandson, portfolio holder for investment & resources, said: “Durham County Council is proud to support Power Roll through our Finance Durham Fund. With this additional investment, we are confident that Power Roll will continue to thrive in County Durham and contribute to the global transition towards net zero.

“The innovative solar film technology developed by Power Roll has the potential to revolutionise the solar energy industry, providing ultra-low-cost green electricity on a global scale. We are excited to see the positive impact this investment will have on both the local economy and the environment.”

Thin film PV has scored only variable success in Britain. In 2015 Chinese manufacturer Hanergy began selling its home-focused panels through a concession in 18 IKEA stores. The partnership failed within two years, killed off as Hanergy’s miserable 12% conversion efficiency confined sales only to roofs of larger homes.

Repeated manipulation of Hanergy’s share price practised by senior managers on the Shanghai stock exchange further disgraced the firm.

Cambridge engineer John Hingley founded Milton Keynes-based Renovagen, promoting containerised solar film, satisfying military and humanitarian needs for remote power.  Wound up in 2021 after eight years, the firm since appears to have been re-born.

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Cero Generation and Enso Energy announced success yesterday in talks with Rabobank to fund storage supporting their 200 acre, 50MW Larks Green PV park in south Gloucestershire.

The parties confirmed Rabobank as the battery’s sole funder. The Dutch lenders signed off on the farm three years ago.

Canadian Solar will supply the battery and manage its EPC installation.  Once the device is commissioned next year, EDF will manage storage optimisation, securing revenues by means of its trading platform.

Larks Green’s power began flowing directly into the nation’s high voltage transmission backbone earlier this month.  Generation of 73,000 MWh per year is planned, meeting the needs of 17,000 homes.

The plant is Cero’s first battery project to reach financial close. In partnership with Enso, the company says it has over 30 stand-alone or co-located storage projects, amounting to over 2GW within its existing 5GW UK development pipeline.

With another 5GW of early-stage battery or solar opportunities in early-stage development, batteries will play an even greater role in its longer-term strategy, Cero said.

Cero CEO Marta Martinez Queimadelos hailed the deal as a ‘national milestone’:  “We’re delighted to announce our first financial close for one of our battery energy storage projects”, she said.

“Co-location enables solar power to go further, maximising the benefits which renewables bring to the table and helping to accelerate the UK’s net zero transition.

“We’re particularly excited that this battery is co-located on the UK’s first solar farm to connect directly to the transmission network. “Larks Green is  not only an industry first but also a national milestone”.

Enso Energy director Andrew King indicated the company’s pipeline included more projects seeking direct connections to high voltage national transmission.

“At Enso we are all very proud to have been involved in this pioneering project from inception” said King, hailing “another major milestone reached on the road to the decarbonisation of UK energy”.

“The co-location of solar power and battery will allow optimisation of the site as a source of renewable generation and storage, and also provides us with a template for our portfolio of transmission connected sites”, the Enso official added.

The post Cero and Enso agree financing on 50MW battery for Larks Green appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Wholesale prices are likely to remain above the £100/MWh benchmark into the early 2030s, driven by factors including depressed or declining nuclear output on the continent, and structural changes including the electrification of industry & transport, say the consultants.

“Lower French nuclear production is expected to increase the scope for power exports from Great Britain”, they advise, after looking again at UK market numbers in 2023’s first quarter.

France’s nuclear fleet has been suffering extensive outages due to maintenance issues, frequently unplanned. In the past two years, as many as half of the nation’s 28 plants have been off line at any one time.

Germany finally closed the final three of its nuclear stations last month, a year later than scheduled.

Cornwall’s latest research says increased exports, plus the wider electrification of the economy, particularly for heat and transport, lead them to revise upwards their long-range price predictions made late in 2022.

Over the next five years, the recent fall from last year’s historic peaks will continue, the analysts believe, as sources of low-carbon generation are brought online.  Greater availability of renewable generation, mainly wind, will drive the positive trend, Cornwall’s senior modeller  Tom Edwards believes.

But beyond 2028, the £100MWh figure will serve as a floor, from which prices will resume their upward curve.

“In the long run, electrification of the economy is predicted to raise the demand for renewable power, driving up price forecasts”, Edwards writes. “(This) will likely result in power costs levelling out at a higher rate, surpassing pre-pandemic levels”.

“The outlook suggests that we have come through the worst of the current energy crisis and that the exceptionally high prices seen over the past two years will continue to fall. However, the market is finely balanced and consequently susceptible to price shocks arising from any unforeseen circumstances. Continuing the decarbonisation agenda remains the best way to insulate the market and consumers from similar prices in future”

Read Cornwall’s analysis here.

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Ministers’ lack of an overarching delivery plan in last month’s Powering Up Britain road map, and their lack of ownership of whole system costs has created “policy silos and sequencing problems”, the committee says.

Connection delays of up to 15 years for new wind and solar plants are among barriers outlined in the D-BEIS committee’s report into decarbonising power.

Repeated government omissions in policy delivery, including leaving new onshore turbines in England prey to planning snags, no mass programme to insulate homes, inadequate support for long-duration storage and lack of clarity on funding new nuclear & implementing hydrogen policy, belie ministers’ boasts on Net Zero, say the MPs.

Britain’s renewables developers face tax barriers higher than those in oil and gas, leaving the sector lagging in the global race for investment capital.   Green generation’s attractiveness to financiers has faded in the months of the committee’s report, it alleges.

“A resolute focus on delivery is now essential”, the committee urges.

“The process to secure a grid connection must be overhauled,” the report urges. Charged with a clearer mandate to deliver Net Zero, “Ofgem needs to approve investment in networks ahead of need. Network owners need to deliver on their business plans”.

Planning guidance better aligned with decarbonisation goals is critical, delivered quicker by properly resourced authorities, the MPs urge.

Reform of energy retailing must leave customers at the heart of the transition, says the report.  Demand-side flexibility must be treated as an equal partner to supply.

Among nearly 30 recommendations, the committee back calls from the Climate Change Committee & the National Audit Office for ministers to publish a comprehensive delivery plan, itemising milestones towards 2035’s decarbonisation goal.

On nuclear, the government must publish costs of its ambition to deliver 24GW of new capacity, says the committee, and remove uncertainties about use of the controversial Regulated Asset Base model.

Due this year, the promised strategy document substantiating ministers’ Great British Nuclear initiative should set out alternative routes for delivery, including financing options.

Green energy lobbyists the REA warmly supported the committee’s views.  Its chief executive Dr Nina Skorupska commented:

“As well as streamlining the current pipeline of renewables, the UK must act decisively to ensure that green investment is not diverted away from the UK to other jurisdictions as a result of stronger incentives elsewhere”.

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