Coal’s contribution to UK electricity generation fell to historic lows in the second quarter of this year, official government statistics have shown. Fresh electricity generation stats, released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy today, show that coal contributed just 0.6% of the UK’s power demand in the three months ended June 2019,
EDF’s Hinkley Point C nuclear project is at greater risk of running 15 months behind schedule and could cost the firm up to £2.9 billion more than previously estimated, the French power giant has confirmed. In a statement this morning, EDF said that following the milestone completion of the nuclear island ‘common raft’ in June
The UK’s offshore wind sector has smashed records for price in the government’s third Contracts for Difference auction round, with prices running as low as £39.65/MWh. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) this morning unveiled the hotly anticipated auction results, confirming that 6GW of new offshore wind capacity will be delivered at
The government is to extend the deadline for energy suppliers to install smart meters in homes by four years to 2024. The extension, included within a consultation document published yesterday, ends months of speculation that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) would relent amidst mounting pressure from suppliers that the current 2020
The two millionth SMETS2 smart meter has been installed, marking the doubling of installs since May. The Data Communications Company (DCC), which manages communications between the country’s smart meters, is celebrating milestone, which has come amidst an uptick in installs. Leading areas are seeing 1-in-7 households with a smart meter, the DCC said. Smart meters
On August 9, a thunderstorm caused 1.5 GW of generation capacity to go offline within seconds in the U.K. The incident caused millions of households to temporarily lose power but the situation could have been considerably worse if not for the country’s battery storage reserves. Renewable energy company RES claims to have averted disaster in
Solar panels might seem like they’re in direct competition with plants. One is catching sunlight to do photosynthesis, the other wants to take it to push electrons. Surely Highlander rules apply, and there can be only one on a plot of land, right? In reality, it’s not a zero-sum game. Some plants will burn in
Under the new law proposed by HM Revenue and Customs, the VAT for new solar and energy storage products will increase from 5% to 20% from October The government is being urged to stop the proposed VAT increase for solar and battery storage technologies by industry, environmental groups and more than 17,500 people. Under the
Implement “proper” climate change plans or risk facing legal challenge, environmental lawyers have warned 100 councils across England. The councils – all of which are currently developing a new local plan – have been put on notice by environmental law firm ClientEarth, giving them eight weeks to explain how evidence-based carbon reduction targets will be
E.ON made a bold announcement last week: all 3.3 million of their customers will be placed on a 100% renewable tariff as standard. No need to change their tariff or account. No extra charge. A good news story on the face of it. But is it too good to be true? The overnight switch to