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Could your EV fleet help supply the extra electricity the UK needs?
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging could change the way organisations think about electricity.
As EVs become more popular in the UK, electricity demand will inevitably rise. This’ll create new opportunities with commercial EV fleets. Ultimately, it could help turn what’s currently a cost centre – refuelling – into a potential revenue stream through optimisation of electricity use.
It’s difficult to predict precisely how much extra demand for electricity EVs will create, but alongside wider electrification, it’ll be significant.
Appetite for consumption
National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios reports forecast possible energy outcomes on the way to 2050. Its 2020 report projected one scenario where peak daily electricity demand would rise to approximately 62 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and 76-96GW by 2050.
To put that in context, in 2019, peak electricity demand on a cold winter’s day in the UK was in the region of 59GW. So, even by 2030, we could find ourselves needing approximately 5% more electricity at peak times. That requirement could be more like 50% extra by 2050.
From adversity comes opportunity
Increases in demand are likely to affect the price of electricity. That price volatility creates an opportunity for profit, through optimising bi-directional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging.
Organisations with large EV fleets are going to want to charge their vehicles when the price of electricity is at its lowest – typically overnight.
If millions of EVs are charging at the same time, electricity will become more expensive. A sharp rise followed by a sustained level of demand could even change the traditional pattern of daytime peak / night-time off-peak power pricing.
Changing price dynamics are already creating an opportunity for EV owners.
Optimisation and beyond
Drax are using their flexibility services to help some of their customers by:
1 Understanding their operational requirements – when they need machinery and offices to be switched on – and plotting it against electricity prices. This enables them to avoid unnecessary charges and limit consumption at peak times.
2 Finding optimal tariffs to help them reduce EV charging costs. By automating their systems to charge only when the electricity price has fallen to a given level, Drax are helping to reduce their costs.
But by going beyond optimisation and enabling bidirectional charging, these customers could use their electric fleets to generate income. EVs are effectively mobile batteries that can charge and discharge. Organisations can send any power in their fleet’s EVs back to the Grid with a V2G charger.
In this way, Drax are enabling more than just cost-saving practices, they’re introducing their customers to new revenue streams.
In one of National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios, V2G charging could provide up to 38GW of flexible power from 5.5 million EVs. That extra electricity would cover all the extra peak power the UK needs in the highest-demand scenario for 2050.
Be prepared
Bidirectional charge points are available now, just not yet at a sufficient scale or an appropriate price to be viable.
However, the time will soon come when economies of scale make bidirectional charging technology more affordable and more widely available. Organisations with EV fleets will be in pole position to profit.
Drax are helping organisations across the UK to move from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs) to EVs. Their end-to-end partnership service plots a clear roadmap to cleaner fleets, lower emissions, regulatory compliance and reduced costs.
If you’re considering the switch to EVs, find out how Drax can help you on your journey.
The post Could your EV fleet help supply the extra electricity the UK needs? appeared first on .
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Inside ‘UK’s loneliest house’ cut off from outside world with no gas or electricity where you can stay for £28 a night
YOU can spend a night in the “UK’s loneliest house” cut off from the outside world.
Skiddaw House in Cumbria is only accessible by foot, has no electricity or internet and is ideal for anyone looking to escape the real world.
Tim Stewart
Six bedrooms and five bathrooms are inside the home which sits on 3,000 acres of Lake District Land[/caption]
Tim Stewart
Britain’s loneliest house has no sign of people for miles[/caption]
Tim Stewart
Cars struggle to navigate the winding track up the mountain to Skiddaw House so its only accessible by foot or bike[/caption]
The 19th Century home has no sign of people for miles and is a perfect for keen walkers, adventurers or anyone who doesn’t like other people.
The house, which sits on 3,000 acres of Lake District protected land, describes itself as “an Alpine-hut style bunkhouse” and you can bag a bed in a shared room for £28.50 a night.
Skiddaw has been dubbed “UK’s loneliest house”, but it makes up for it with breath-taking views across miles of dramatic and undisturbed wilderness.
And there’s plenty of time to take in the scenery during the one hour and 20 minute hike to get there from the nearest village.
It boasts six bedrooms and five bathrooms and the nearest ounce of civilisation is a village nearly four miles away, while the closest shop is five miles away.
The almost 200-year-old house runs on solar panels for light and hot water, while heating is provided only by wood-burning stoves.
For the first ever time, Skiddaw House (without its land) went on sale in 2021 for £1.5million, but failed to sell.
The remoteness, the lack of electricity and the four-mile mountainous walk to the nearest pub might have had something to do with it.
In November, it returned to the market. This time it went on sale with all of its glorious land for around £10million.
The estate agents described it as “an exciting and unique opportunity to purchase the most remote house in England.”
Andrew Wright, head of Mitchell’s Land Agency who’s selling the property, told The Guardian: “It is one of the largest areas of the Lake District national park ever to be sold.”
For now, its still seems to be a hostel for intrepid adventurers keen to experience its surrounding wilderness.
Skiddaw House also has something of a famous history having been popularised in fiction by writers and poets across the 20th Century.
Author Hugh Walpole called it “one of the loneliest dwelling-places in all of the British Isles”.
It was the setting for a brutal and dramatic murder in his eerie 1932 novel The Fortress.
Walpole painted a rather specific picture: “Through this vale twisted the mountain torrent, fighting with stones, letting its life be dominated by these piling stones that heaped themselves one on another.”
Sound enticing? Head out to Cumbria’s wilderness for under £30 – but only if you can get there.
Skiddaw House
The rather dated but cosy interiors as long as you wrap up warm[/caption]
Skiddaw House
You will be totally cut off from the world – by land and a lack of signal or internet[/caption]
Skiddaw House
There’s also no electricity or gas[/caption]
Skiddaw House
It is described by auctioneers as ‘the most remote home in England’[/caption]
This content was originally published here.
0 notes
Text
Inside ‘UK’s loneliest house’ cut off from outside world with no gas or electricity where you can stay for £28 a night
YOU can spend a night in the “UK’s loneliest house” cut off from the outside world.
Skiddaw House in Cumbria is only accessible by foot, has no electricity or internet and is ideal for anyone looking to escape the real world.
Tim Stewart
Six bedrooms and five bathrooms are inside the home which sits on 3,000 acres of Lake District Land[/caption]
Tim Stewart
Britain’s loneliest house has no sign of people for miles[/caption]
Tim Stewart
Cars struggle to navigate the winding track up the mountain to Skiddaw House so its only accessible by foot or bike[/caption]
The 19th Century home has no sign of people for miles and is a perfect for keen walkers, adventurers or anyone who doesn’t like other people.
The house, which sits on 3,000 acres of Lake District protected land, describes itself as “an Alpine-hut style bunkhouse” and you can bag a bed in a shared room for £28.50 a night.
Skiddaw has been dubbed “UK’s loneliest house”, but it makes up for it with breath-taking views across miles of dramatic and undisturbed wilderness.
And there’s plenty of time to take in the scenery during the one hour and 20 minute hike to get there from the nearest village.
It boasts six bedrooms and five bathrooms and the nearest ounce of civilisation is a village nearly four miles away, while the closest shop is five miles away.
The almost 200-year-old house runs on solar panels for light and hot water, while heating is provided only by wood-burning stoves.
For the first ever time, Skiddaw House (without its land) went on sale in 2021 for £1.5million, but failed to sell.
The remoteness, the lack of electricity and the four-mile mountainous walk to the nearest pub might have had something to do with it.
In November, it returned to the market. This time it went on sale with all of its glorious land for around £10million.
The estate agents described it as “an exciting and unique opportunity to purchase the most remote house in England.”
Andrew Wright, head of Mitchell’s Land Agency who’s selling the property, told The Guardian: “It is one of the largest areas of the Lake District national park ever to be sold.”
For now, its still seems to be a hostel for intrepid adventurers keen to experience its surrounding wilderness.
Skiddaw House also has something of a famous history having been popularised in fiction by writers and poets across the 20th Century.
Author Hugh Walpole called it “one of the loneliest dwelling-places in all of the British Isles”.
It was the setting for a brutal and dramatic murder in his eerie 1932 novel The Fortress.
Walpole painted a rather specific picture: “Through this vale twisted the mountain torrent, fighting with stones, letting its life be dominated by these piling stones that heaped themselves one on another.”
Sound enticing? Head out to Cumbria’s wilderness for under £30 – but only if you can get there.
Skiddaw House
The rather dated but cosy interiors as long as you wrap up warm[/caption]
Skiddaw House
You will be totally cut off from the world – by land and a lack of signal or internet[/caption]
Skiddaw House
There’s also no electricity or gas[/caption]
Skiddaw House
It is described by auctioneers as ‘the most remote home in England’[/caption]
This content was originally published here.
0 notes
Text
New Report Says UK Renewables Can Generate Enough Electricity to Power 55% of Homes for a Year | The Renewable Energy Hub
Analysis has shown that UK renewables generated more electricity than gas-fired power stations this winter. Enough clean power was produced to power every UK home through the winter which helped to significantly reduce gas imports.
The new report details how record renewables generation provided the ‘backbone’ of the electricity system and displaced expensive gas imports this winter.
The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit’s (ECIU) latest Winter Power Tracker has confirmed that wind, solar and hydro generated 47TWh of energy, a year-on-year increase of 4TWh, between 1 October 2022 and 28 February 2023 which is enough to power all UK homes throughout the winter or over half (55%) of UK homes for an entire year.
Approximately 95TWh of gas would be required to generate the same amount of power in that same time period. The ECIU says that this amount of gas is equivalent to 110 tankers of liquified natural gas imports (LNG), or the amount that more than 10 million UK homes would burn over the winter.
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This means that winter renewables generation displaced over a third (35%) of the UK’s annual gas demand for power generation according to the ECIU.
The ECIU’s headline conclusion was that renewables exceeded electricity generation from gas between 1 October 2022 and 28 February 2023 making them the leading source of electricity on the grid this winter.
Without renewables the UK would have had to burn more gas for power generation which would have potentially increased net gas imports by more than a fifth (22%), including increasing gas imported via pipeline by 28%.
In 2022, UK renewables provided 38 per cent of the country’s electricity generation, nearly as much as gas at 40 per cent.
This increased renewable generation allowed the UK to supply surplus energy to the rest of Europe in 2022 making it a net electricity exporter for the first time since 2010. Exports were eight times higher in Q3 2022 than the same quarter the previous year alone.
It is important to note that most clean energy in the UK comes from wind power which is most productive during the winter when winds are stronger.
The ECIU also predicted that the UK’s battery energy storage (BESS) capacity will grow 14-fold this year with the storage pipeline having increased by five times between winter 2021/22 and winter 2022/23.
Europe’s largest grid-scale battery storage facility came online in 2022 and the UK’s pumped hydro storage capacity is also set to rise by 130 per cent to 6.5GW.
Other sources of generation such as nuclear and biomass generated a further 28TWh of low carbon power over the winter period. According to the ECIU, using gas power plants to replace this generation would require 56TWh more gas, equivalent to almost five million homes’ annual demand, or more than 60 liquified natural gas tankers.
Jess Ralston, head of energy at ECIU, said:
“We’re seeing the old electricity system give way to the new, with renewables becoming the backbone and displacing more and more gas. Battery storage is ramping up faster than expected, boosting the UK’s energy security, and leaving us less exposed to international gas markets. Lifting the ban on the onshore wind will help. But with the US and the EU going gangbusters for renewables, eyes are on the Government, the Chancellor, and the Budget to decide on how the UK stays an attractive market for the investments that will ultimately bring down bills.”
The ECIU’s new report came out at the same time as separate analysis showed that the UK’s electricity grid ran on 100 per cent clean power for 25 hours during December, setting a new monthly record and providing further evidence the grid can operate with near zero emissions when weather conditions allow.
Even though renewables have limited electricity wholesale costs, the ECIU warned that the UK still has the highest gas dependency in Europe, with 40% of its power and 85% of domestic heating supplied by gas. This has led to UK households being worst hit by rising energy costs because they are the least energy efficient in western Europe, according to the International Monetary Fund.
UK Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said that he wanted to commit the UK to greater energy independence through both nuclear and renewables during a recent meeting in London with his US counterpart Jennifer Granholm. Both Mr Shapps and Ms Granholm want to wean Western countries off Russian oil and gas to undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. They said the huge rise in gas prices after the Russian invasion has shown the need to speed up the move away from fossil fuels.
This content was originally published here.
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London electricity grid company UK Power Networks to strike | Wimbledon Times
The company ensures that lights stay on across the capital as well as areas including Kent and East Anglia.
The strike action comes after employers rejected a pay deal seeing a ballot of 1,300 members of the Unite trade union come out against the offer.
The offer set by the company would have seen a pay increase of 18% over two years.
Unite disputed this figure, saying that workers have in the past been offered a Retail Price Index inflation-busting pay rise, and that this deal would see their real-term pay cut substantially.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “UKPN’s profiteering, which has seen it continue to rake in astronomical profits as millions of families dread the arrival of their next energy bill, is a prime example of why Britain’s economy is broken.
“Our members at UKPN, like the rest of ordinary working families across the UK, are also struggling with rocketing energy bills.
“Despite its astronomical profits, the company has decided to offer its workers a real terms pay cut. Unite will fight attacks on our members’ pay, terms or conditions. UK Power Networks can afford to put forward an acceptable offer and this is what needs to happen.”
UK Power Network employers to take strike action
UK Power Networks serves around 8.3 million customers across London, the East and South East.
UKPN said Unison and Prospect, two of its other unions, had accepted the offer, and GMB, its final union, had not balloted members.
“We believe our record offer of a projected 18% pay rise and additional benefits is a fair and generous one,” UKPN said.
“We are deeply disappointed that Unite members have voted in favour of strike action. The offer remains on the table and we hope Unite will follow Prospect and Unison in accepting it, which we believe is in the best interests of our employees.”
The offer would have given staff a 7% pay rise effective from last April in addition to another rise based on inflation, which is expected to be 11.1%.
UKPN said the risk that customers’ electricity supply would be disrupted was still low.
“The company has robust contingency plans in place for all reasonable scenarios, including industrial action,” it said.
This content was originally published here.
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UK energy sector unites behind calls to grant Ofgem 'net zero mandate' | BusinessGreen News
Scores of energy firms, environmental groups and clean tech trade associations have today called on the government to empower Ofgem with a specific net zero mandate in order to accelerate the regulator's efforts to remove barriers to investment towards accelerating the decarbonisation of Britain's energy system.
An open letter addressed to Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps published this morning - which has been signed by the Energy Networks Association (ENA), Green Alliance and RenewableUK among others - warns that without Britain's energy regulator being given a specific mandate to decarbonise the energy system, progress towards the UK's legally-binding net zero emissions targets risks stalling.
"The foundations of our future energy system are already being built and the regulatory decisions that determine our ability to meet the UK's decarbonisation targets are being made by Ofgem today," said Lawrence Slade, chief executive at the ENA, which represents Britain's energy network companies.
"Empowering Ofgem with a net zero mandate will enable strategic investment, removing a clear barrier to investment in the low-cost, low-carbon energy system we are all working towards."
The letter, which has also been co-signed by the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE), Regen, the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), comes just weeks ahead of the Treasury's upcoming Spring Budget on 15 March.
The government has also been ordered by the High Court to deliver a revamped version of its Net Zero Strategy by the end of the month, while it has also promised to deliver a "fulsome response" to Conservative MP Chris Skidmore's Net Zero Review in the spring or summer.
Today's letter also highlights the Energy Security Bill -which contains a number of energy market provisions and is currently making its way through Parliament - as "the prime opportunity" to deliver the "vital change" to Ofgem's mandate.
The "long term importance of the Energy Security Bill cannot be understated", the letter states.
In addition, it urges the government to publish a "long-awaited" Strategic Policy Statement to Ofgem, which it argues would allow the energy watchdog the chance to "properly incorporate net zero into its decision making".
Other groups to have signed the letter include the Association or Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), the Global Infrastructure Investor Network, and Hydrogen UK.
"Central to the Government's plans to get more EVs on our roads, heat pumps connected, net zero heat networks built, CO2 captured and stored, and the growth of a hydrogen economy, is delivery of energy infrastructure today that meets the government's targets for the future," the letter states. "Government departments and the Future System Operator are all aligned with the 2008 Climate Change Act, and it is vitally important that the regulator be aligned also."
It follows the launch last week of two separate consultations by Ofgem, both setting out proposals to establish a "more decentralised, decarbonised, and dynamic energy system" in Britain, in a bid to prepare for the transformative changes required to build a net zero emission electricity grid by 2035.
The government was considering a request for comment at the time of going to press.
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'The old electricity system is giving way': Renewables generated enough electricity to power all UK homes this winter | BusinessGreen News
Wind, hydro, and solar projects generated more electricity than gas fired power stations this winter, providing enough clean power to meet all household demand and helping to significant;y reduce gas imports.
That is the headline conclusion of the latest Winter Power Tracker report from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), which reveals how between 1 October 2022 and 28 February 2023 UK renewables generated 47TWh - a year-on-year increase of 4TWh, and enough electricity to power all UK homes throughout the winter or over half of UK homes for an entire year.
Given renewables exceed electricity generation from gas over the same period, British-based renewables were the leading source of electricity on the grid this winter, according to the ECIU.
Generating the same amount of power using gas power stations would have required around 95TWh of gas - equivalent to over 10 million UK homes' gas use for the winter, or 110 tankers of liquified natural gas imports, according to the ECIU.
As such, winter renewables generation displaced the equivalent of more than a third of the UK's annual gas demand for power generation.
Moreover, without these renewables, the UK would have used more gas for power generation, potentially increasing net gas imports by over a fifth, including increasing imports via pipelines by 28 per cent.
Other sources of generation - such as nuclear and biomass - generated a further 28TWh of low carbon power over the winter period. According to the ECIU, using gas power plants to replace this generation would require 56TWh more gas, equivalent to almost five million homes' annual demand, or more than 60 liquified natural gas tankers.
Jess Ralston, head of energy at ECIU, said the figures provided further evidence that "the old electricity system is giving way to the new, with renewables becoming the backbone and displacing more and more gas".
"Battery storage is ramping up faster than expected, boosting the UK's energy security and leaving us less exposed to international gas markets," she said. "Lifting the ban on onshore wind will help further. But with the US and the EU going gangbusters for renewables, eyes are on the government, the Chancellor and the Budget to decide on how the UK stays an attractive market for the investments that will ultimately bring down bills."
The update came in the same week as a separate analysis which showed that the UK's electricity grid ran on 100 per cent clean power for 25 hours during December, setting a new monthly record and providing further evidence the grid can operate with near zero emissions when weather conditions allow.
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UK renewables produced enough electricity to ‘power every UK home’ through the winter, analysts say | The Independent
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British-based renewables generated more electricity than gas this winter and produced enough to power every UK home through the winter, analysis has shown.
Between 1 October and 28 February, power generated by wind, hydro and solar reached 47TWh (terawatt hours), according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
Generating the same amount of electricity using gas power stations would have required around 95TWh of gas – equal to 110 tankers of liquified natural gas (LNG) or the amount more than 10 million UK homes would burn over the winter.
Renewably-produced electricity this winter has displaced more than a third of the UK’s entire annual gas demand for power generation, the analysts said.
Without it, the UK would have had to burn more gas which would have potentially increased net gas imports by more than 22 per cent, including gas imported via pipeline.
Jess Ralston, head of energy at ECIU, said: “We’re seeing the old electricity system give way to the new, with renewables becoming the backbone and displacing more and more gas.
“Battery storage is ramping up faster than expected, boosting the UK’s energy security and leaving us less exposed to international gas markets.
“Lifting the ban on the onshore wind will help. But with the US and the EU going gangbusters for renewables, eyes are on the Government, the Chancellor and the Budget to decide on how the UK stays an attractive market for the investments that will ultimately bring down bills.”
On Monday, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps met his US counterpart Jennifer Granholm in London and said he wants to commit the UK to greater energy independence through nuclear and renewables.
Mr Shapps and Ms Granholm want to wean Western countries off Russian oil and gas to undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
They said the huge rise in gas prices after the Russian invasion has shown the need to speed up the move away from fossil fuels.
Emma Pinchbeck, Energy UK’s chief executive, said “we must do everything possible” to encourage and speed up investment in low-carbon power.
She added: “This analysis confirms the ever-growing contribution that homegrown renewable generation is making to power our homes and our businesses.
“We’ve seen the effect that record wholesale gas prices have had on customers’ bills over the last 18 months and it’s underlined the urgency of expanding our supply of cheap, domestic, clean power in order to remove our dependency on expensive fossil fuels – which will strengthen the country’s energy security, cut bills and emissions and boost economic growth.”
In 2022, UK renewables provided 38 per cent of the country’s electricity generation, nearly as much as gas at 40 per cent, and became a net electricity exporter for the first time since 2010.
Most clean energy in the UK comes from wind power which is most productive during the winter when winds are stronger.
Other sources of generation, including nuclear and biomass, generated 28TWh over the winter period, the ECIU analysts said.
Using gas power plants instead would have required 56TWh more gas, equivalent to almost five million homes’ annual gas demand or more than 60 LNG tankers.
Battery storage is also set to grow 14-fold with the storage pipeline having increased by five times in the last year.
Europe’s largest grid-scale battery storage facility came online in 2022 and the UK’s pumped hydro storage capacity is set to rise by 130 per cent to 6.5GW.
The UK is still heavily dependent on gas. It supplies 40 per cent of our power and 85 per cent of our heating and UK households have been badly hit by rising gas prices because they are the least energy efficient in western Europe, according to the International Monetary Fund.
This content was originally published here.
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UK renewables generated more electricity than gas this winter - Hull Live
British-based renewables generated more electricity than gas this winter and produced enough to power every UK home through the winter, analysis has shown.
Between October 1 and February 28, power generated by wind, hydro and solar reached 47TWh (terawatt hours), according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). Generating the same amount of electricity using gas power stations would have required around 95TWh of gas – equal to 110 tankers of liquified natural gas (LNG) or the amount more than 10 million UK homes would burn over the winter.
Renewably-produced electricity this winter has displaced more than a third of the UK’s entire annual gas demand for power generation, the analysts said. Without it, the UK would have had to burn more gas which would have potentially increased net gas imports by more than 22 per cent, including gas imported via pipeline.
Jess Ralston, head of energy at ECIU, said: “We’re seeing the old electricity system give way to the new, with renewables becoming the backbone and displacing more and more gas. Battery storage is ramping up faster than expected, boosting the UK’s energy security and leaving us less exposed to international gas markets.
“Lifting the ban on onshore wind will help. But with the US and the EU going gangbusters for renewables, eyes are on the Government, the Chancellor and the Budget to decide on how the UK stays an attractive market for the investments that will ultimately bring down bills.”
On Monday, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps met his US counterpart Jennifer Granholm in London and said he wants to commit the UK to greater energy independence through nuclear and renewables. Shapps and Granholm want to wean Western countries off Russian oil and gas to undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
They said the huge rise in gas prices after the Russian invasion has shown the need to speed up the move away from fossil fuels. Emma Pinchbeck, Energy UK’s chief executive, said “we must do everything possible” to encourage and speed up investment in low-carbon power.
She added: “This analysis confirms the ever-growing contribution that homegrown renewable generation is making to power our homes and our businesses. We’ve seen the effect that record wholesale gas prices have had on customers’ bills over the last 18 months and it’s underlined the urgency of expanding our supply of cheap, domestic, clean power in order to remove our dependency on expensive fossil fuels – which will strengthen the country’s energy security, cut bills and emissions and boost economic growth.”
In 2022, UK renewables provided 38 per cent of the country’s electricity generation, nearly as much as gas at 40 per cent, and became a net electricity exporter for the first time since 2010. Most clean energy in the UK comes from wind power which is most productive during the winter when winds are stronger.
Other sources of generation, including nuclear and biomass, generated 28TWh over the winter period, the ECIU analysts said. Using gas power plants instead would have required 56TWh more gas, equivalent to almost five million homes’ annual gas demand or more than 60 LNG tankers.
Battery storage is also set to grow 14-fold with the storage pipeline having increased by five times in the last year. Europe’s largest grid-scale battery storage facility came online in 2022 and the UK’s pumped hydro storage capacity is set to rise by 130 per cent to 6.5GW.
The UK is still heavily dependent on gas. It supplies 40 per cent of our power and 85 per cent of our heating and UK households have been badly hit by rising gas prices because they are the least energy efficient in western Europe, according to the International Monetary Fund.
For more stories from where you live, visit
This content was originally published here.
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New milestone passed by Veolia for delivery of renewable electricity to the UK
Veolia has passed a new milestone for delivering net zero power by delivering more than six times the renewable electricity to the grid than it uses across its 400 offices and sites across the UK.
The global resource management firm says that by generating 856 GWh of electricity using a combination of biomass, landfill gas, biogas and Energy Recovery facilities (ERF), that qualify under the Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) scheme, it is able to supply a secure annual equivalent to power 240,000 homes.
This exported electricity adds to the 2.5TWh of CHP, low carbon and renewable generation that serves around 500 customer sites spanning the industrial, healthcare, water, leisure, district heating, education and retail sectors. This output includes 134MWe of generation capacity using biogas, biomass, and solar sources which save around 200,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year for Veolia’s customers.
An added benefit of this electricity is the cogeneration of green heat with some of the plants supplying communities and businesses using district heating networks. These deliver around 2 GWh of heat equivalent to the heating needed for 120,000 homes. As an estimated 20 per cent of the nation’s carbon emissions are generated by domestic heating, due to a low standard of energy efficiency, using district heating from these sources lowers carbon emissions and can help reduce cost, and fuel poverty, in vulnerable groups.
Gavin Graveson, Veolia Senior Executive Vice President Northern Europe Zone said: “Energy market volatility, and the ability to deliver stable power has highlighted the importance of reliable sources of energy that can support our modern lives and the UK power infrastructure. By actively developing renewable and low carbon generation we can already produce the affordable and sustainable energy that is essential to support communities and businesses.
“As more baseload generators such as nuclear, coal and CCGTs retire, stable renewable sources are set to play an increasingly important role as demand increases with population growth, adoption of electric vehicles, electricity to heat homes, and increased demand of the rapidly expanding internet of things. We are already demonstrating what can be achieved today to secure sustainable independent power for the UK, but to accelerate this development the UK now needs to act on the incentives for investment in decarbonisation, and realise the net zero future for power.”
2023 FMJ and Grundon Recycling and Waste Management Survey
FMJ in conjunction with Grundon Waste Management is pleased to launch the 2023 waste management and recycling survey which examines the ways in which FMs approach their waste management responsibilities.
In this, the sixth year for the annual appraisal, we know there is a greater opportunity than ever for FMs to reappraise their waste and recycling operations and help their organisations meet the growing pressure to achieve ESG goals.
We want to learn how FMs have adapted to the legislative, economic and societal changes of the past year and how they plan to meet the latest waste and recycling targets.
In this survey we’ve posed a series of questions which include insights into FMs’ waste management strategy and targets, how they’re moving towards zero waste targets, and the importance of not just meeting compliance targets but also ESG goals.
The results of the 2023 survey will be published in FMJ magazine and form the basis of a white paper co-written by FMJ and the experts at Grundon on how to approach waste and recycling strategies.
To take part click .
The post New milestone passed by Veolia for delivery of renewable electricity to the UK appeared first on FMJ.
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Government needs to take action as 80% of UK drivers won’t buy electric vehicles due to rise in electricity costs - London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
A staggering 80 percent of UK drivers won’t be purchasing electric vehicles (EVs) due to rising costs and lack of government support, according to research released today.
The revealing statistics, commissioned by used car buying service, ChooseMyCar.com, are part of a larger study into driver beliefs around electric vehicles. The study includes questions around the costs of EVs, which prove that there are several large barriers to UK drivers getting behind EVs as the future of the motor industry.
Currently, EV drivers enjoy a 100 percent discount on the Congestion Charge in London – until 24th December 2025. Also, in April 2025, the Government introduces the Vehicle Excise Duty on EVs. However, these future costs are putting off a number of car buyers. Seventy-eight percent of UK drivers expressed a belief that the Government needs to do more to support EV ownership, with 70 percent suggesting it scraps its plans on EV tax, Congestion Charge, and Low Emission zones.
Of the 80 percent that are concerned about rising electricity costs, 79 percent were male compared to 81 percent of women. The 55 plus age group was the demographic with the biggest concerns, with 84 percent admitting that the rising costs will stop them purchasing an EV at the moment.
Geographically, there was also some variation, although all areas were strongly in agreement that rising electricity costs were a big turn off when considering investing in an EV. Sheffield was the city with the strongest view on this, with 92 percent stating they would be put off buying an EV due to current electricity costs.
This was followed by:
The least concerned cities were:
Founder of ChooseMyCar.com, Nick Zapolski, said that the statistics prove how important it is that the Government provides incentives for people to buy EVs.
“EVs have hit the press for all the wrong reasons lately, with complaints about charging difficulties dominating the headlines.
“These stats prove that people have valid concerns about EV ownership – and instead of helping ease those concerns, the Government chooses to introduce extra barriers.
“If the Government truly wants to support its green agenda and encourage EV ownership, it needs to take action now, or EVs will become a disaster.”
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DASA and BEIS host webinar on Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are exploring a Phase 3 of the 'Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence' competition, to build on current activities which seek to advance innovative technologies to enable the long-term co-existence of offshore windfarms and Air Defence radar. Courtesy DASA The competition is funded by the BEIS Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) and is undertaken in partnership with the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and DASA. On 27th January 2023, DASA and BEIS hosted a webinar to test the programme’s vision with the wider market and provide the opportunity to inform the programme. The scope of Phase 3 is likely to support technologies across the three broad categories: radar stealthy materials alternative tracking based solutions. The competition is aimed at any technology providers within those 3 categories, as well as original equipment manufacturers, onshore and offshore owner/operators and developers who would be interested in collaborating with the technology providers as part of Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence: Phase 3. If you are interested in submitting a proposal when the competition launches in 2023, watch the above webinar. What is covered in the webinar? Recap of Phase 1 and Phase 2 Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence: Phase 3 scope and timelines Proposed Delivery Model Collaboration survey Q&A Collaboration Survey For a potential phase 3, DASA encourages collaboration between suppliers. To support this, they have a short survey to collect details of suppliers who wish to explore collaboration possibilities. This collaboration list will be circulated to all those who have signed up on a weekly basis. In contrast to phases 1 and 2, the potential phase 3 will likely be a grant competition and require match-funding from the bidders. The importance of Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence Offshore wind will play an increasingly critical role in the UK’s renewable energy supply to enable Net Zero ambitions, as manifested by a 50GW target by 2030 and a Climate Change Committee (CCC) central scenario of at least 75GW of capacity by 2050. The offshore windfarm installations may adversely impact the quality of data obtained from the long-range Primary Surveillance Radars (PSR) which are the backbone of the UK’s Air Defence detection capability. A mitigating solution, or combination of solutions, is needed to enable the co-existence of windfarms and Air Defence and enable the deployment of offshore wind. Through the Joint Air Defence and Offshore Wind Task Force, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is currently working on procuring mitigation solutions in the near term, to enable the next generation of large-scale offshore windfarms to be built that will become operational from 2025 and beyond. This BEIS funded innovation programme is complementing the MOD work and focuses on helping to find solutions that will enable the long term co-existence of Air Defence and offshore wind. What happened in Phase 1 and 2? In Phase 1, £2 million worth of contracts were awarded to fast-track ideas for technologies that could mitigate the impact of windfarms on the UK’s Air Defence radar system. Learn more here . In Phase 2, seven projects were awarded a total of £3.8 million funding to develop technologies that support the coexistence of offshore windfarms and UK Air Defence systems. Learn more here .
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UK renewables overtake gas to become UK's top electricity generator this winter | BusinessGreen News
Renewables has overtaken gas to become the biggest single source of power on the UK grid so far this winter, with power generated by wind, hydro and solar reaching a record 34TWh from 1 October 2022 to 13 January 2023.
That is the headline finding from the latest edition of the Energy Climate and Intelligence Unit's (ECIU) Winter Power Tracker, which found that renewables have produced 2TWh more electricity than gas over the winter months to date.
According to the analysis, generating the same amount of power using gas power stations alone would have required an additional 68TWh of gas, which is equivalent to 7.4 million homes' gas use for the entire winter, or 78 tankers of liquified natural gas (LNG).
The figures also showed that during winter so far renewables have displaced the equivalent of a quarter of UK annual gas demand for power, 16 per cent of UK net gas imports, and a fifth of what the country imports via pipelines.
The ECIU's findings mirror similar reports earlier this month from National Grid, which confirmed more than half the UK's electricity came from zero carbon sources across five months last year.
The data further underscores how renewables have played a critical role in bolstering UK energy security and curbing energy bills at a time when wholesale gas prices have hit record highs and governments across Europe have had to rush to secure gas imports to replace imports from Russia.
"Wind has chosen a good year to overtake gas given how expensive gas has become and questions around its security of supply," said Jess Ralston, head of energy at ECIU. "As the wind industry expands alongside the rapid growth of battery storage, ever more of the electricity we use is homegrown but also plentiful enough to export. Speeding up investment in our power grid will enable more of this cheap, natural energy to flow to homes, so bringing down bills."
The ECIU report also found that other sources of low carbon generation, such as nuclear and biomass, generated 20TWh over the winter period where using gas power plants instead would require 39TWh more gas - equivalent to 15 per cent of annual UK gas demand for power.
In addition, the report confirmed that battery storage capacity was up five-fold from last winter and currently stands at 2.5GW. The report estimated that the UK's grid battery capacity is now sufficient to provide support to the grid during times of tight supply equivalent to around two nuclear power stations.
The pipeline of battery storage projects in the UK has doubled between 2021 and 2022 according to figures from RenewableUK, meaning the sector is already set to exceed the National Grid's expectations for 2035. According to research from the department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy the UK's pumped hydro storage capacity is also set to rise by 130 per cent to 6.6GW.
ECIU's Winter Power Tracker also highlighted how the UK still uses gas for around 40 per cent of its power generation and 85 per cent of home heating and as a result has a higher level of gas dependency than any other country in Europe. According to the International Monetary Fund, the UK's high level of gas dependency combined with the fact the country has some of the least efficient housing stock in Europe has meant that UK households have faced some of the worst energy bill increases.
However, the increase in renewables generation has also been found to limit wholesale electricity costs, partly by displacing expensive gas power plants that would otherwise set higher prices and partly through the use of Contracts for Difference (CfDs) that have capped the price of renewable power even as wholesale prices have risen sharply.
The CfD regime is returning around £65 per household this winter, which the ECIU said equates to around £1.9bn in total, of which £1.1bn is paid directly to households with a further £800m helping to curb the cost to the Treasury of its price freeze package.
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Record-breaking wind power: Wind turbines provide over 25% of UK electricity in 2022
For the first time in history, wind supplied more than a quarter of Britain’s electricity last year. This highlights the rapid growth of this energy source.
National Grid has released new figures that show wind is the second-largest source of electricity in 2022, providing 26.8pc.
This is a five-point increase compared to 2021.
Turbines produced 41.4% of the national supply during February’s windiest month. On December 30, a windy day saw turbines produce 20.918 gigawatts, the highest output by Britain’s expanding fleet.
After two large nuclear plants were shut down last year, wind now makes up a larger percentage of Britain’s electricity mix than nuclear.
Last year, the second-highest source of electricity from turbines was gas. It generated 38.5pc.
These figures show the dramatic change in the electricity mix over the past decade. This was first triggered by a push for reducing carbon emissions and then accelerated by Russia’s throttling gas supplies to Western countries.
In 2012, 40pc of the UK’s electricity was produced by coal. Wind accounted for only 5.5pc.
As new taller turbines are constructed, the proportion of wind in the mix increases. The UK is one of the most attractive markets to developers.
Orsted, the developer of Hornsea 2, began generating electricity in August. It is the largest wind farm in the world. It can produce enough power to power 1.4 million homes.
The higher wind mix on the system reduces carbon emissions but it can also cause problems in balancing electricity supplies because the wind is intermittent.
To develop batteries and cables that allow electricity from the wind to be stored and transported to the places it’s needed, a lot of work is required.
National Grid published a report on Friday that stated: “Electricity generated by wind turbines has continued its growth in importance for the operation of the national grid.”
The energy market is experiencing a very challenging year, which has led to growth in the last year.
Due to fears over supply shortages after Russia’s war against Ukraine, electricity prices have gone up sharply.
This increases the cost of producing electricity from a natural gas-fired plant. It also causes an increase in the overall price of electricity. Gas-fired power is vital to the system.
As the government tries to help consumers who are facing rising energy costs, wind farms and other renewable energy generators have benefited from higher prices.
Britain has also been affected by outages in France’s nuclear fleet, which have put pressure on its electricity supply. Britain is often dependent on France for some of its power.
National Grid has created a program that allows customers to be paid to reduce their electricity use in times of shortage, if necessary to balance the grid. This has been tested so far.
Last year, nuclear power stations produced 15.5pc in the electricity mix. The rest was supplied by imports (5.5pc), biofuel (5.2pc), photovoltaic (4.4pc), and hydropower (1.8pc), as well as coal (1.5pc), and storage (0.9pc).
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UK Sees 40% of Electricity Generated by Renewables in Best Year Yet | The Renewable Energy Hub
According to new research a record amount of electricity was generated from renewable sources in the UK in 2022. Britain ended 2022 with the largest amount of clean power being created on record helped by the continued wintery blusters as the year drew to a close.
Academics from Imperial College in London analysed the data for Drax Electric Insights who commissioned the quarterly report.
The researchers found that wind, solar, biomass and hydropower accounted for more than two-fifths (40%) of the UK’s electricity for the first time in 2022 which is up from 35% in 2021. Power from renewables has gone up more than four times in the past ten years. The increase in power from renewable sources in the UK in 2022 resulted in a lowering of carbon dioxide emissions by 2.7 million tonnes according to a press release from Drax. At one point in May 2022, 72.8% of the grid’s power came from renewable sources while wind farms generated a landmark 20GW of electricity for the first time.
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Though 2022 has largely been a successful demonstration for the UK’s net zero future there are some critics who are warning that an increased reliance on renewable energy sources could see the UK grid face tighter margins as the weather gets colder.
The increase in renewable generation has come at a time which is crucial for the UK as energy prices soar and the price of natural gas skyrockets as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The use of renewable energy sources can help avoid the ever-changing prices of fossil fuels, as the fuel for these sources is often free.
Despite the increase in clean energy generation the report found that the share of fossil fuel energy generation has also increased. Fossil fuel supplied 42% of the country’s power this year, its largest share of the fuel mix since 2016.
Drax claims to be the UK’s biggest renewable energy producer by output, thanks in part to its vast biomass plants. However, Climate scientists have questioned the UK’s classing of biomass as a renewable energy source due to the amount of carbon emissions it produces. A 2021 report from energy think tank Ember found that Drax’s biomass plant in Yorkshire was the biggest single source of carbon dioxide in the UK.
Dr Iain Staffell from Imperial College London, lead author of the Drax Electric Insights report series said:
“This has been a year like no other for the energy industry. The public are feeling the pain of high gas prices on their energy bills, even though renewables are providing the grid with more cheap, green electricity than ever before. The lesson from 2022 is that we need to break our addiction to fossil fuels once and for all if we want to lower costs and better secure energy supplies.”
He hopes that increased investment in clean energy technologies could help the UK become “Europe’s renewable electricity powerhouse”, reducing energy bills and boosting the economy by exporting power to neighbouring countries.
It is fairly obvious if we look at the figures that had we not invested in wind, solar and biomass over the last decade the UK’s energy bills would have been even higher and we would have been at greater risk of blackouts over the winter.
Dr Stafell believes the UK should generate its own power from renewable sources rather than relying on imported fuel. According to Business Green he said:
“The energy crisis cannot be solved by increasing our reliance on gas imported from abroad. We need to turbocharge our investment in clean energy technologies to become Europe’s renewable electricity powerhouse, which will cut fuel bills at home and bring money into the economy by exporting power to our neighbouring countries.”
Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner said:
“We can accelerate and strengthen Britain’s long-term energy security by ending our reliance on expensive, imported fossil fuels and instead increase investment in homegrown renewables, and innovative green technologies.”
In fact, the recent report indicates that this trend has already begun with Britain becoming a net exporter of electricity for the first time in more than a decade. The success of renewables has helped to quadruple electricity exports from last year to 17.2 TWh of electricity. According to the report, an estimated 1.9 Terrawatt hours of electricity was exported in 2022 which generated more than £3 billion for the UK economy. This represents a dramatic swing in power trading from the previous year when Britain instead imported a net total of 22.9TWh.
A future dominated by renewables could help bring fuel prices back down to sustainable levels, while also achieving a reduction in carbon emissions vital for the UK’s journey to net zero by 2050.
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Wind power hits record as turbines deliver over a quarter of UK electricity in 2022
Wind supplied over a quarter of Britain’s electricity for the first time ever last year, highlighting the rapid growth of the energy source.
New figures from National Grid show wind was the second largest source of electricity over 2022, supplying 26.8pc. It represents a gain of five percentage points compared to 2021.
During the windiest month, February, turbines generated 41.4pc of national supply. Meanwhile, a windy day on December 30 saw turbines’ output hit 20.918 gigawatts – the most Britain’s growing fleet has managed so far.
Wind now accounts for a greater proportion of Britain’s electricity mix than nuclear, after two large nuclear plants shut down over the year.
Turbine-generated electricity was second only to gas as a source last year, which generated 38.5pc of the mix.
The figures highlight the huge change in the electricity mix over the last decade, provoked first by a push to cut carbon emissions and accelerated by Russia’s throttling of gas supplies to the West.
As recently as 2012, coal produced 40pc of the UK’s electricity and wind accounted for just 5.5pc.
The proportion of wind in the mix is growing as new, taller turbines are built, with the UK one of the most attractive markets for developers.
In August, developer Orsted’s Hornsea 2 wind farm, the world’s largest, started generating. It has the capacity to produce enough power for 1.4m homes.
While the higher mix of wind on the system helps lower carbon emissions, it also creates challenges in balancing electricity supplies as wind is intermittent.
A huge amount of work will need to be done to develop batteries and cables so that electricity from wind can be stored and moved to where it is needed.
In a report published on Friday, National Grid says: “Electricity from wind turbines has continued to grow in its importance to the operation of the national network.”
Growth over the latest year comes amid a hugely challenging year for energy markets.
Electricity prices have risen starkly amid high gas prices due to concerns over supply shortages following Russia’s war on Ukraine.
This pushes up the costs to generate electricity from a gas-fired power plant, in turn increasing the price of electricity across the board as gas-fired power is essential to the system.
Wind farms and other renewable energy generators have benefitted from higher prices and have been hit with extra taxes on their sales, as the Government tries to fund help for consumers facing rising energy bills.
Outages on France’s nuclear fleet have also put pressure on Britain’s electricity supplies, as Britain typically needs to import some power from France.
National Grid has opened a scheme in which customers can be paid to stop using electricity in times of scarcity if needed to balance the system. It has only been deployed in testing so far.
Nuclear power stations generated 15.5pc of the electricity mix last year, with the rest supplied by imports (5.5pc), biomass (5.2pc), solar (4.4pc), hydropower (1.8pc), coal (1.5pc) and storage (0.9pc).
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UK householders face January energy bill changes as Ofgem price cap goes up - Birmingham Live
Some households in Britain are set to pay more for their energy bills due to new changes coming into force on Sunday, January 1. How it affects you will depend on where you live and how you pay for your gas and electricity.
The increase will be worst for those households in North Wales and the Merseyside area who pay for their electricity later through monthly or quarterly bills, rather than by direct debit. Their bills are set to rise by more than £5 per month between January and April.
But bills will go down for some households. Those in the north of England will pay around £3.90 less per month from Sunday.
The changes are in the amount energy suppliers charge per unit of gas and electricity they supply. These come into force at the beginning of January and last until the beginning of April.
People who pay on so-called standard credit, which means they get an invoice every month or quarter and do not pay by direct debit, will be the worst hit by the changes. Their bills are set to go up by around £3.90 per month on average, ranging from around £2.60 in the north of England to £5.60 in the Mersey and North Wales region.
Prepayment meter customers will see an average bill increase of £1.50 a month, while those who pay by direct debit will see an average increase of just two pence.
The system works differently for customers on certain types of tariff, such as Economy 7. For these customers "suppliers have flexibility to apply slightly different discounts to the individual rates within the tariff, helping to balance out the reduction of more expensive day rates with cheaper night-time electricity rates. Each supplier will approach this differently", the Government said.
The new energy payments are a result of the Ofgem price cap rising to a new annual level of £4,279 in January 2023 for an average dual fuel household paying by direct debit based on typical consumption. But bill-payers will still be protected by the Government's Energy Price Guarantee.
This protects consumers by reducing the unit cost of electricity and gas so that a typical dual fuel direct debit bill for January 2023 remains at £2,500 a year until April, when it will be increased to a new annual average of £3,000.
That is based on typical use for an average household and is a cap on energy unit price not a cap on total bills. For individual customers, the amount they pay under the Energy Price Guarantee varies depending on how much energy they use, where they live, and how they pay for their energy.
The price cap is a maximum for a unit of gas and electricity, with standing charges taken into account. It is not a cap on customers' overall energy bills, which will still rise or fall in line with their energy consumption.
From January 1, the equivalent per unit level of the price cap to the nearest pence for a typical customer paying by direct debit will be 67p per kWh for electricity customers and a standing charge of 46p per day. The equivalent per unit level for a typical gas customer is 17p per kWh with a standing charge of 28p per day.
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