Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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6 | 10TH - 16TH JULY 2015 | UTILITY WEEK National media National Trust goes for heat The National Trust has unveiled its "big- gest ever invest- ment" in heat and power sources £30m total amount the organisation plans to invest in the ten-year programme 40+ projects will be undertaken as part of the investment Up to £4m energy savings expected each year 20% possible reduc- tion in energy usage by 2020 50% proportion of energy used by the National Trust that will come from renewable sources by 2020 if everything goes to plan Solar Impulse breaks solo flight record A team attempting to fly a solar- powered plane around the world has broken a world record for the longest non-stop solo flight. Solar Impulse shattered the solo-flight record threshold of 76 hours while crossing the Pacific from Japan to Hawaii. The aircra, piloted one at a time by Swiss explorers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, set off on its 22,000-mile journey around the world from Abu Dhabi on 9 March. The Daily Telegraph, 3 July Hub will help Scots energy firms in Japan Scottish companies are to be given the chance to gain a large slice of the massive growth market for renewable energy in Japan. A new hub to allow Scottish firms to access Japan's renewable energy market was opened in Nagasaki by the cabinet secretary for culture and external affairs, Fiona Hyslop. Called Scotland House, it is based at the Naga- saki Dejima Incubator in southeast Japan. The space is available free to Scottish companies and stakehold- ers while they build relationships with the Japanese offshore renew- ables and marine energy sector. The National, 3 July Sit-down protest at Irish Parliament About 100 people have staged a sit-down protest in Dublin against water charges in Ireland. The protesters were trying to prevent politicians from entering or leaving the front of the building. Organisers said the protest was in response to the new provisions of the Environment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, which include pay- ment of water charges being made part of tenancy agreements. BBC News, 1 July STORY BY NUMBERS P ennon's takeover of Bournemouth Water could hit the sector's efficiency drive by up to £119 million by 2025, Ofwat has warned. In its initial submission to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into the takeover, the regulator said the loss of Bournemouth Water as an industry benchmark could affect the modelling it uses and reduce the efficiency challenge it puts on the other companies. Ofwat said the loss of Bournemouth Water from the outcome delivery incentive "could result in us setting less stringent benchmarks in these areas", potentially costing up to £66 million by 2025. The removal of the water company from the wholesale cost benchmarking process could have a detrimental impact of £43 million, while its loss from the service incentive mechanism (SIM) could have a £10 million detrimental impact by 2025. The regulator acknowledged there will be some benefits from the merger, such as synergy sav- ings which would be passed on to customers, but added these "do not outweigh" the loss of Bournemouth Water as an exem- plar comparator company. Ofwat said it would need Pennon to put in place remedies to ensure that customers in England and Wales do not suffer from the loss of Bournemouth water as a comparator company. Pennon defended the deal and its impact on Ofwat's modelling in its submission to the CMA, saying it would produce net benefits as the newly enlarged company would be more efficient and "a better comparator". Pennon said "Ofwat will be able to set more challenging efficiency targets for the rest of the industry" as a result of the takeover. MB Ofwat warns merger could cost efficiency drive £119m Seven days... 463 Uncertainty around government funding for green gas-to-grid plants could put more than 460 projects "in jeopardy", the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association has warned "It's green to be brown" Thames Water efficiency manager Andrew Tucker urged gardeners watering their lawns to consume water efficiently and wisely