Utility Week

 Northern Ireland Water has started work on a £7 million solar farm to supply electricity to its Dunore Point water treatment works in South Antrim. When completed, the 33-acre site on the eastern shore of Lough Neagh will produce a peak output of 4.99MW and save the company £500,000 a year. £145m Gas distribution network SGN has waived £145 million of allowed revenues, saying the voluntary contribution will help maintain the integrity of the RIIO framework. 690MW Ventient Energy launched on 27 November with a 690MW onshore wind portfolio, making it the UK's third-largest owner and operator of onshore windfarms. ELECTRICITY Ofgem rejects subsea cable for Shetland Islands Ofgem has rejected plans to install a 60MW power line between the Shetland Islands and mainland Britain. The regulator said the subsea cable was no longer needed because the loosening of emissions limits meant the islands' ageing diesel power plant could stay open for longer than anticipated. SSE's 67MW Lerwick Power Station was due to close by 2021 due to tougher emissions limits introduced under the EU's Indus- trial Emissions Directive (IED). In 2014, Ofgem instructed the system operator for the islands, Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN), to hold a competitive ten- der to ensure security of supply. However, since then changes to how the IED is applied and changes to the government's rules on windfarms on remote islands competing in contracts for differ- ence have undermined the plans. SSEN and Ofgem have agreed that security of supply can be maintained until 2025 by con- tinuing to operate Lerwick Power Station and undertaking additional supporting measures, which would be "significantly" cheaper than building a new power line and back-up generation. "Innovation means the UK is rapidly emerging as a world leader in smarter networks" Energy Networks Association chief executive David Smith says electricity network operators will deliver £1.7 billion of innovation benefits to the energy system by 2031. More than half of respondents to a survey conducted by Utility Week, in association with Harris Interactive, had been offered a smart meter and, of those, 55 per cent had one installed. Of those who hadn't been offered a smart meter, 52 per cent said they were interested in getting one and 25 per cent showed no interest. Of those who had a meter installed, just one-third said they had saved energy, while 59 per cent said they now had better visibility over their energy costs. UTILITY WEEK | 1ST DECEMBER - 7TH DECEMBER 2017 | 5

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