Don’t save the BESS til last
Innovations in battery technology and other storage methods are crucial for making renewable energy more reliable and practical.
Grid & Retail
Sumitomo set to provide cable for Shetland 2 Link from Scottish factory
Sumitomo has hailed a "significant milestone" for its Highland subsea cable factory after it signed a capacity reservation agreement (CRA) with SSEN Transmission.
Quinbrook invests £100m in UK hydrogen refuelling
Global investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has invested £100 million of equity into Aegis Energy to fund a roll-out of hydrogen and multi-fuel refuelling infrastructure for fleets in the UK.
Best and worst energy firms revealed as customer choice slowly returns
Octopus Energy, Utility Warehouse and 100Green have been named the best energy providers in an annual survey by watchdog Which?
Teesworks energy-from-waste incinerator group hits back at MP’s criticism
A group representing local councils who are building an energy-from-waste (EfW) incinerator in North East England has hit back after a local MP criticised the project and called for it to be halted.
NESO proposes “pause” in grid connection approvals ahead of reforms
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has proposed pausing applications for new grid connections as it looks to deal with a project backlog.
Scottish wind farm constraint payments rise to £380m
UK taxpayers paid £390 million in constraint payments to Scottish wind farm operators in 2024, according to the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) think tank.
Wind power was largest source of electricity in 2024
A blackout warning issued the day after NESO revealed that renewables accounted for half of electricity generation last year highlights the importance of interconnectors in grid ‘balancing’.
What would zonal electricity pricing mean for Scotland?
The UK government expects to make a decision on the introduction of zonal pricing by mid-2025, but what would it mean for Scotland if the plans go ahead?
Pylon wars: Battle between builders and ‘blockers’ mounts across UK
Plans to build thousands of new pylons in rural areas to meet the Government's clean power targets are sparking backlash in communities across the UK.
Fixing the UK’s ‘broken’ energy market
The Labour government promised to fix Britain’s broken energy market, as did Conservative governments before it, but is it really broken and does it need fixing?
2024 in Review: A landmark year for the UK’s renewable energy transition
This year will undoubtedly be remembered as a watershed for renewable electricity generation in the UK. By the end of 2024, it is likely to be the first full year in which low-carbon renewables – wind, solar, and hydropower – generated more electricity than fossil fuels.
Heat pumps are three times more efficient than gas boilers, research shows
Heat pumps are at least three times more efficient than gas-fired boilers, according to the latest research from two separate UK government-backed reports.
National Grid outlines ‘unprecedented’ £35bn investment plans
National Grid has outlined “unprecedented” plans to invest £35 billion in its electricity-transmission business over the five years to March 2031.
ScottishPower submits £10.6bn transmission network transformation plan
ScottishPower subsidiary SP Energy Networks has unveiled a £10.6 billion investment in the UK transmission network after submitting its plans to the Ofgem regulator.
‘Future looks worse’ for wind curtailment
The UK’s largest renewable electricity supplier Octopus Energy is using AI to address a hold-up in grid connections as the cost of turning off turbines snowballs to £1 billion.
UK’s £14bn energy supply chain is “at risk”, trade body warns
Beama, a trade body representing UK electrical and energy infrastructure manufacturers, has called for urgent reform in a letter addressed to senior ministers Sarah Jones, Ed Miliband and Jonathan Reynolds.
SSE, Siemens Energy partner on UK hydrogen power acceleration
SSE (LON:SSE) and Siemens Energy (FWB:ENR) have launched a new collaboration, Mission H2 Power, aimed at developing gas turbine technology capable of running on 100% hydrogen.
Centrica on track for full year despite storage business loss
British Gas owner Centrica (LON:CSA) is on track to meet full year expectations despite predicting a loss at its storage business which includes the UK's strategic North Sea gas store, Rough.
The Xlinks Interview: James Humfrey, CEO of the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project
In our exclusive interview, Energy Voice spoke to Xlinks chief executive James Humfrey to discuss the scope and hurdles facing the nascent renewables megaproject.
Energy sector’s faith in net zero is just 4%, says Energy Institute
The Energy Institute said that the industry is “clear” that the government’s goal of meeting targets to use entirely clean power by the end of the decade “faces considerable hurdles”.
Early consultations could help speed up Scottish energy consenting
The UK and Scottish governments have finished a consultation that proposes enshrining early stakeholder engagement in the consent process for energy infrastructure projects.
The unsteady green brick road to lower energy bills
The question of what the communities which host the drive for renewable energy can expect to get out of it will acquire greater prominence in the year ahead and both Scottish and UK governments must come up with plausible answers soon.
Clean power mission 2030 will take a ‘Herculean’ effort from supply chain
The UK government’s 2030 clean power targets will take a “Herculean” effort from the supply chain, according to Yselkla Farmer, chief executive of energy infrastructure trade association Beama.
Hydropower body says potential to displace UK winter gas demand ‘still not recognised’
The potential for UK hydropower projects to displace winter gas demand is "still not recognised" by government, according to an industry body.