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UTILITY WEEK | 9TH - 15TH JUNE 2017 | 5 ELECTRICITY Renault EV batteries will be repurposed Old batteries from Renault electric vehicles (EVs) will get a "second life" in customers' homes after the car manufacturer signed an alliance with storage provider Powervault. Powervault said the move could drive down the cost of its smart battery units by 30 per cent, pushing domestic storage towards a "tipping point" for mass rollout. Powervault managing director Joe Warren described the alliance as an "important milestone". "It's only a matter of time before a Powervault becomes as common in households as a dishwasher," he said. On Monday Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt broke diplomatic ties with Qatar, severing all land, sea and air links amid claims it supports terrorism. This could affect the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market because Qatar exports more than 30 per cent of global supplies. Traders are bracing for potential supply disruptions from the region, which could lead to global LNG price rises. Thumbs up Energy regulator Ofgem successfully launched Project Nexus as planned on 1 June Thumbs down Citizens Advice has urged the CMA to investigate the district heating industry, citing concerns about consumer protection in this unregulated market (see story, p11). TRUMP REACTION On 1 June, US president Donald Trump announced he will cause the USA to renege on the Paris climate change agreement struck in 2015. Here's how energy industry leaders and commentators reacted: "Far from putting America first, withdrawing from action on climate change means that president Trump has put the US behind the rest of the world." EMMAPINCHBECK,CHIEFEXECUTIVE, RENEWABLESUK "Although this decision is clearly a blow to climate diplomacy it will have little effect on what happens in the real energy economy, which is increasingly driven by innovation, efficiency and falling costs." TOMBURKE,CHAIRMAN,E3G "The UK energy sector is resolute in its commitment to decarbonisation and delivering on our international climate change targets. Energy companies of all sizes will continue to push ahead in the drive to reduce carbon emissions and develop clean, affordable energy." LAWRENCESLADE,CHIEFEXECUTIVE, ENERGYUK "The decision to leave the Paris accord is essentially a political statement, and one that is completely unnecessary and very ill-advised… As a practical matter, the US's continued participation in the accord would basically come at no actual cost. The cost, however, for withdrawal would be considerable – causing great harm to US diplomacy, trade and the global environment." JAMESRUBIN,PARTNER,DORSEY&WHITNEY ENERGY UK to host record-breaking energy storage scheme Europe's largest hybrid flywheel-battery storage project – the first ever in the UK – is to be installed at a University of Sheffield research facility near Wolverhampton. The system will be used to provide frequency response services to help integrate volatile renewable generation on the power grid. The €4 million (£3.5 million) project is being developed by a consortium made up of Schwungrad Energie, Adaptive Balancing Power, Freqcon and the University of Sheffield. It is being supported by €2.9 million of funding from the EU's Horizon 2020 scheme. The hybrid system will be piloted for six months at Schwungrad Energie's storage facility in Ireland, where the company has already demonstrated the technology as part of a separate project with Irish grid operator EirGrid. To begin with it will feature two flywheels with a combined capacity of 500kW and 10kWh. Following the pilot, the system will be shipped to the University of Sheffield's research facility in Willenhall.