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UTILITY Week 9th June 2017

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4 | 9TH - 15TH JUNE 2017 | UTILITY WEEK Rockfire buys UK solar assets WIRSOL has sold part of its UK solar portfolio to RockfireCapital. 19 Numberofsolar projectsincluded inthedisposal, includingtwo sitesinNorthern Ireland. 105MWp Combinedcapacity ofthesites. 100GWh Annualcombined outputofthe19 projects. 30,000 Numberof householdsthis amountofpower couldserve. 60 tonnes Amountofcarbon dioxidethesites savetheUKper year,compared withconventional generation alternatives STORY BY NUMBERS Seven days... National media Westinghouse CEO received £15m Westinghouse Electric paid former chief executive Daniel Roderick £15 million in the year before it filed for bankruptcy amid billions of dollars of cost overruns. Its financial meltdown has led to huge problems for the planned £10 billion nuclear plant in Moorside, Cumbria, which is now on hold, owned by Westing- house's parent company Toshiba. Daily Mail, 2 June Oil firms speak out on US Paris withdrawal President Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement risks exposing oil companies to a tough regulatory backlash from future US administrations, Royal Dutch Shell has warned. The Anglo- Dutch company has been one of the most outspoken oil industry supporters of the 2015 accord, telling Trump that withdrawal would weaken America's position globally. The Times, 3 June Tusk comes out against Nord Stream 2 Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, has weighed in against the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline to bring more Russian gas to Germany, urging strict regulation of a project he fears will strengthen Moscow. In a forthright letter to the Commission, he expressed his "negative view" of the proposed pipeline under the Baltic Sea, saying it would "not serve the best European interest". Financial Times, 5 June Scots wind excels Scotland had "another extraordi- nary month" for renewable energy in May, according to environmental groups. Wind turbines alone pro- vided enough electricity to supply 95 per cent of Scottish homes. WWF Scotland based its claim on data provided by WeatherEnergy. BBC, 4 June DWI won't reveal source of UU crypto contamination T he Drinking Water Inspec- torate (DWI) has cited rea- sons of public interest for refusing to reveal the source of the cryptosporidium contamina- tion at United Utilities' Franklaw treatment works in 2015. Responding to a freedom of information request from Utility Week, the DWI said it was withholding the information as "release of interim findings before the completion of an investigation would be likely to be prejudicial to the course of justice". This relates to a clause in the Freedom of Information Act that allows for information to be withheld if it has the potential to impact legal proceedings. The DWI's investigation was instigated aer an outbreak of the cryptosporidium parasite caused a boil water order to be issued to 300,000 United Utilities customers in Lancashire in August 2015. The incident is said to have cost the company £25 million in compensation. Shortly aerwards there were reports in the national and industry press claiming that a dead pheasant caught in United Utilities' pipe network was the source of the outbreak. However, this has not been confirmed by the DWI. The Inspectorate currently has no end date for its investi- gation, which could result in further heavy financial penal- ties. Analysts from RBC Capital have previously warned that United Utilities may specifically run foul of the DWI's category 3 water quality event standards and the water quality service index. The analysts said these "penalty-only ODIs [outcome delivery incentives]" could have a "cumulative impact of more than £20 million". In addition, United Utilities could be hit with fines similar to those eventually handed down to Bournemouth Water in 2015 for an incident in 2013 that contaminated supplies. Bourne- mouth Water was ordered to pay £130,000 in that case. JD "A decision of this magnitude… should not be made in the immediate aftermath of an election" Mark Draper, chairman, Flexible Generation Group, on Ofgem's intention to make a final decision on cuts to embedded benefits on 15 June. See story, p11

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