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UTILITY WEEK | 29Th AUgUsT - 4Th sEpTEmbEr 2014 | 19 Finance & Investment This week UK gives £10m boost to giant tidal project Davey says array shows 'what can be done when the UK and scottish governments work together ' The UK government has offered £10 million in funding to the Meygen tidal array project in Scotland. The project, which will have an installed capacity of just under 400MW is set to be the largest project of its kind in the world. The funding will be drawn from the Marine Energy Array Demonstrator (Mead) scheme, which is part of an £185 million funding pot that the UK government intends to invest in low-carbon technologies. Other funders of the £51 million tidal project include the Scottish Government and The Crown Estate. Speaking before Scotland's referendum on independ- ence next month, UK energy secretary Ed Davey said the project "shows what can be done when the UK and Scottish governments work together". "This innovative and exciting project puts Scotland and the UK on the map as a global leader in marine technology – meaning jobs, better energy security and the potential to export this technology to the world," Davey added. Just days later the UK's Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) announced it had signed a contract worth £7.5 million to test its second phase development of a multi- turbine foundation structure at the MeyGen project. The ETI will test its second phase of the tidal energy converter project that will support a further two turbines at the site of the Meygen project, set to be the largest marine energy project in the world. JA ELEcTrIcITY Bloomberg gloomy about tidal and wave Bloomberg New Energy Finance has revised down its forecasts for global tidal stream and wave power deployment in 2020, by 11 per cent and 72 per cent respectively. Bloomberg said the emer- gence of marine renewable energy technologies was taking longer than hoped because of project setbacks, fatigue among venture capital investors, and the difficulty of deploying devices in the marine environ- ment. This latest forecast repre- sents a downward revision from the figures of 167MW for tidal stream and 74MW for wave that Bloomberg New Energy Finance published a year ago. Angus McCrone, senior ana- lyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said: "Taking devices from the small-scale demonstra- tor stage to the pre-commercial array stage is proving even more expensive and time-consuming than many companies – and their investors – expected." ELEcTrIcITY Fund invests £90m in more wind assets Renewables investment fund Greencoat has paid AES Corpora- tion £90.6 million for a 51.6 per cent stake in a portfolio of wind power assets totalling 87.5MW. The acquisition follows its purchase of the Kildrummy and Maerdy windfarms earlier this year and brings its total wind portfolio to 271.5MW. As a result of its latest transaction, Greencoat's gross debt has reached £225 million, or 38 per cent of its gross asset value, so the fund will have to raise capital to avoid breaching its 40 per cent debt limit. The AES purchase covers four windfarms: the 20.5MW Six- penny Wood, 16.4MW Yelverto, 22MW North Rhins and 28.6MW Drone Hill windfarms. gAs North Sea forecasts trounce predictions A study into the potential rev- enues of the North Sea oil and gas sector has shown results six times larger than the "pessimis- tic" predictions from the UK's Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), according to a Scottish business group. The OBR indicates that between 2014 and 2040, oil and gas revenues will amount to just £57 billion, whereas new data from apolitical business organi- sation N-56 says revenue could be as high as £365 billion. Income from the North Sea is key to the current debate over Scottish independence because the country would be entitled to 90 per cent of the revenue from oil and gas activities. Stock watch 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 IPI Index 22 Dec 13 22 Feb 14 22 Apr 14 22 Aug 14 IPI value £/MWh 20-day rolling average Linear (IPI value £/MWh) 22 Aug 14 Source: Icis Energy price reporter Icis has launched a wholesale power price index to track the most liquidly traded power contracts spanning the coming year. The price agency said the index would provide "homes and businesses an insight into price trends on the UK wholesale electricity market". It added: "robust energy markets are vital to the UK economy, and the IpI makes electricity price trends and activity more visible and accessible to household consumers and commercial buyers, as well as media and policymakers." The index shows how over the previous year the price of power has come under pressure after a mild winter, with upward support provided by tensions in key gas-transit state Ukraine, which is currently embroiled in a conflict with Russian-backed rebels. Meygen will have 400MW capacity 22 Aug 13 22 Oct 13 Q1 temperatures are warmer than expected and gas supply is strong, depressing prices Prices rise as colder weather is forecast for Q1, boosting prices for future winters Less concern over gas supply and LNG deliveries to the UK rise Russia and Ukraine cause concern over gas supplies Russia and Ukraine cause concern over gas supply for future winter