Utility Week

4 | 13TH - 19TH APRIL 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... More invested in solar than fossil fuels in 2017 Global investment in renewable energy shot up last year, far out- stripping investment in fossil fuels, according to a UN report. As the price of clean energy technology plummets, it has become an increasingly attractive prospect for world governments. China was by far the largest investor in renewable energy in 2017, accounting for nearly half of the new infrastructure commis- sioned. This was mainly a result of its massive support for solar power, which globally attracted nearly a fih more investment than in the previous year. The Independent, 5 April No more free bottled water for Flint Michigan will stop providing free bottled water to the city of Flint, Govenor Rick Snyder had said. City officials criticised the deci- sion, in part because Flint is still recovering from a crisis that le resi- dents with dangerous levels of lead in their tap water beginning in 2014. But Michigan officials said lead levels in the water there have not exceeded federal limits for about two years, so the state was closing the four remaining distribution centres of free bottled water. New York Times, 8 April Drought hits Argentina's cattle Argentina's herd will shrink by up to one million head of cattle next year as ranchers facing scorched pastures aer the worst drought in decades slaughter females rather than grow their herds. A wave of hot, dry weather since November has cut 40 per cent from overall grain production in the world's No. 3 corn and soya exporter and will knock off an esti- mated 0.7 per cent from Argentina's gross domestic product this year. Reuters, 9 April STORY BY NUMBERS National media SSE-Innogy name CEO of proposed retail company K atie Bickerstaffe has been appointed chief executive designate of the proposed merger of the retail arms of SSE's household energy business and Innogy's UK retail firm, Npower. The announcement comes ahead of the deal being approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Bickerstaffe is an existing non-executive director of SSE and comes from the Euro- pean specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer Dixons Carphone, where she is chief executive, UK and Ireland. During the course of her career, Bickerstaffe has worked for international consumer-focused corporations such as Dyson, PepsiCo and Unilever. She is the first person to be appointed to the board of the merged retail company and will assume her role later this year, leading preparations for estab- lishing the new firm. In March, the implications of the planned merger between SSE and Innogy (a subsidiary of Germany utility giant RWE) were complicated by the announce- ment of an asset-swap deal between RWE and Eon. If that agreement goes ahead, Eon will take control of RWE's retail interests, which currently include Innogy and Npower. Despite these complications, however, Martin Herrman, chief operating officer retail at Innogy, said: "We are right on schedule with our preparations for the new combined retail company, and our decision as to who will take up the chief executive position is a really positive sign of the progress we are making." Meanwhile, Bickerstaffe said she was "delighted to have the opportunity to lead this new energy supply and services company at a time when the sector is undergoing an exciting transformation". If approved by the CMA, the merger is expected to complete in the last quarter of 2018 or the first quarter of 2019. Until then, both companies will remain independent. SH See analysis, p15 Renewable generation hits record high Renewable generation hit a record high last year because of high wind speeds and increased capacity, according to the latest Energy Trends report from BEIS. 29.4% Renewables' share of electricity generation in 2017, a rise of 4.9 percentage points on 2016. 30.2% Renewables' share of generation in the fourth quarter. 40.5GW Renewable capa- city in 2017, a rise of 13.3 percentage points on 2016. 15% Percentage of all UK demand met by wind in 2017. 95% Percentage of new renewable capa- city in Scotland accounted for by onshore wind. "There appears to be no effective restraint on these firms distributing massive sums to shareholders while cutting pensions" Frank Field, chairman of the work and pensions committee, talking about United Utilities and Anglian Water.

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