Utility Week

4 | 7TH - 13TH FEBRUARY 2020 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... Sacked climate summit chief may sue No 10 Claire Perry O'Neill, the former energy minister, is consulting law- yers aer she was removed from her role running the UN climate change conference. Perry O'Neill has told friends that Boris Johnson and his most senior aides gave three different reasons for her dismissal from her role at the conference, known as COP 26, which is due to take place in November in Glasgow. She is considering legal action if she does not receive a proper explanation. Sunday Times Oxford hydro shines light on electric future Osney Lock Hydro has since 2015 been generating an average of 188 megawatt-hours a year of electricity on a stretch of the River Thames — enough to power around 60 homes. And it is one of up to 90 local energy schemes participating in a £40 million study in Oxfordshire called Project Leo, looking at how new grid models could play a role in balancing the electricity system. Backers of the research, which is being led by SSE, believe that managing how local energy projects trade their excess electricity to the grid or use and store power, can help to avoid large spikes in demand and avoid costly network reinforcements. FT Weekend Hinkley Point C bans workers visiting China The £22 billion Hinkley Point C nuclear development has banned its workers from flying to China over fears about the recent outbreak of coronavirus. Hinkley Point C, which is jointly owned by China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and French energy giant EDF, has suspended all travel to China, and postponed all worker family visits. Sunday Telegraph Press roundup Ofgem sets out nine-step plan for decarbonisation O fgem has published a list of nine actions it intends to take in the next year and a half to support the decarboni- sation of the UK's energy system. The plan was released on the day Jonathan Brearley – previ- ously its executive director for systems and networks – replaced Dermot Nolan as chief executive. "This action plan sets out the steps that we will take as a regu- lator in the next 18 months to ensure that we enable the most effective decarbonisation of the energy sector at the lowest cost to consumers," Ofgem stated. The regulator has pledged to: • Create a new net zero reopener mechanism within the RIIO2 price controls to allow network operators to invest effi- ciently and respond to changes. • Replace the Network Innova- tion Competition with a fund to address major strategic issues. • Explore opportunities to co-ordinate the connection of off- shore wind and inter connectors. • Assist the government and industry in developing cost- effective, low-risk options for the decarbonisation of heating. • Hold a strategic review of system operation informed by findings from its investigation into last year's blackout. • Ensure energy markets adequately reward flexibility. • Develop a regulatory strategy to support EVs. • Amend regulatory require- ments and improve access to data to better support innovation. • Form a net zero advisory group to help Ofgem adapt its approach. It will work with indus- try to develop toolsets to enable better decision-making in the face of uncertainty and publish more detailed guidance on how it assesses regulatory options and their impact on emissions. In an apparent response to criticism that it gives greater priority to reducing bills than addressing emissions, Ofgem said: "It is expected that there will be additional costs in the short term as our energy decarbonises. We will continue to work to ensure that these costs are as low as possible, are shared as fairly as possible, and that vulnerable consumers in particular are protected." TG "If you are serious about this you have got to get a department with focus, access and profile" Acting Lib Dem leader Ed Davey calls for a new Cabinet-level department "with teeth" to take charge of the net zero agenda. STORY BY NUMBERS 6GW of wind and solar 'shovel ready' According to the latest figures from the govern- ment's renewable energy planning database, the pipeline of wind and solar projects ready to go but waiting on market condi- tions has hit 6GW. 4.6GW Amount of wind ready to go last year. 4GW Amount of wind in the pipeline the previous year. 1.5GW Amount of solar ready to go. 1.7GW Amount of solar the previous year. 24.7GW Amount of renewable gener- ation awaiting or under construc- tion, according to Cornwall Energy. Brearley: replaces Dermot Nolan as Ofgem CEO

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