France Plans 1 GW Offshore Wind Farm
France wants to construct a wind farm off the coast of Normandy as the nuclear-dependent nation moves to expand power generation from renewable sources, the energy ministry said on Monday.The planned 1-gigawatt (GW) wind farm could have up to 80 wind turbines of around 12 megawatts each, in an area where wind conditions and the seabed are very favorable for offshore wind power at a competitive price, the ministry said in…
UK Regulator Probes SSE, Npower Merger
British regulators have launched an in-depth investigation into the tie-up between the retail power unit of SSE Plc and Npower, owned by Germany's Innogy, saying it may reduce competition and increase prices for some households.The merger would create Britain's second-largest retail power provider and reduce the "Big Six" dominating the market to five companies when they are already facing political scrutiny for their tariffs…
France's EDF Buys Scottish Offshore Wind Project
France's EDF has bought a 450 megawatt (MW) wind farm project off the coast of Scotland from Mainstream Renewable Power, the companies said on Thursday.The Neart na Gaoithe project, expected to start generating power in 2023, is estimated to cost about 1.8 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) to build, and will be capable of providing enough electricity to power around 375,000 homes a year."This is evidence of our continuing investment and growth in Scotland, where we are the largest generator of low carbon energy," said Simone Ros
Wood wins UK Nuclear Project
Wood has secured a framework agreement to provide technical assistance for a project to build a new nuclear power station in the UK. Effective immediately, the company is supporting General Nuclear System Limited (GNS), a joint venture between China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and EDF Energy, as it seeks preliminary regulatory assessment of the UKHPR1000 reactor proposed for Bradwell in Essex. The Office for Nuclear…
UK Energy Market Watchdog to Review Supply Licences This Year
Britain's energy market regulator Ofgem will review the way it awards supply licences and financial requirements on energy suppliers later this year, it said, following calls for firms to undergo stricter financial stress tests. In a speech on Thursday, Ofgem Chief Executive Dermot Nolan said there had been a lot of interest in the energy sector's financial stability due to the increasing number of suppliers, many of which are very small.
British Gas, E.ON to Freeze UK Energy Prices This Winter
Centrica owned British Gas and E.ON, two of Britain's "big six" suppliers, have frozen their standard energy prices this winter, adding to pressure on rivals to do the same. British wholesale gas and electricity prices have risen about 30 and 40 percent respectively since June, along with a rebound in other commodities such as coal, leading to speculation that some electricity suppliers could raise prices. British Gas, Britain's biggest energy supplier with 6 million customers…
UK Rule Change for Small Power Producers Could Raise Costs, Risk Supply
Changes to Britain's local power generation rules could drive up energy bills and curb growth in new small plants just when the government is seeking to boost the country's electricity supply. Smaller power generators with less than 100 megawatt capacity embedded into local power grids have grown rapidly thanks to rules that let them avoid the costs of using and maintaining the national transmission network. But encouraged by Britain's "big six" energy suppliers…
Britain's SSE to Freeze Energy Prices This Winter
SSE, one of Britain's "big six" energy suppliers, has frozen its standard energy prices this winter, it said on Friday, putting pressure on its rivals to do the same. British wholesale gas and electricity prices have risen about 30 and 40 percent respectively since June, along with a bounce-back in other commodities such as coal, leading to speculation that some electricity suppliers could raise prices. "We understand that the prospect of increasing bills during the colder months is a real concern for customers…
Lewis Wind Power Acquires New Wind Farm Site in Scotland
Lewis Wind Power (LWP), a joint venture between engineering and construction group Amec Foster Wheeler and EDF Energy Renewables, on Wednesday bought new wind farm acreage on Scotland's Isle of Lewis as it seeks to sell output into the wider UK grid via a planned sub-sea cable. LWP's acquisition of Uisenis Wind Farm for an undisclosed amount gives it the ability to install 45 turbines with a generating capacity of 162 megawatts (MW), it said in a statement.
EDF Chief Urges Britain to Go-ahead for Nuclear Plant
The head of EDF Energy has urged the British government to approve the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project, an explict appeal by the French energy giant ahead of a decision due within weeks. Prime Minister Theresa May intervened last month to delay the 18 billion pound ($24 billion) project, just hours after it was approved by EDF's board, former cabinet colleague Vince Cable said. The government says it will make a final decision in the early autumn.
NuGen Eyes 2025 Start for UK Nuclear Project, Could Overtake Hinkley
NuGen expects electricity generation to start at its new nuclear project in Cumbria, Britain in 2025, the company said on Wednesday. The time frame means NuGen's project could over-take EDF's Hinkley C as the first new nuclear plant operating in the country in a generation. "These projects are coming up together at roughly the same time," Robert Armour, Deputy chairman of NuGen said on the sidelines of a Platts nuclear conference.
UK Lawmakers Seek Assurances for Hinkley C Nuclear Plant
A British parliamentary committee has asked the country's energy minister to outline any contingency plans and potential costs if the Hinkley Point C nuclear project collapses. The 18 billion pound ($25.5 billion) project was announced in October 2013 and the plant is seen as vital to securing British electricity supply, but a final investment decision has been delayed while developer EDF seeks partners and financing. "Given…
EDF Energy Buys Dorenell Onshore Wind Farm in Scotland
EDF Energy's renewable arm has bought the Dorenell onshore wind farm project in Scotland which could provide electricity for up to 138,000 homes, the company said on Thursday. The plant could generate up to 200 megawatts of electricity and is expected to begin operation in 2018. EDF Energy, the British subsidiary of French utility EDF, will develop and construct the project alongside renewable energy company Infinergy which was previously developing the project, EDF Energy said in a statement.
Big Firms Say EU Carbon Reforms Do Not Go Far Enough
Proposed reforms to the EU carbon market do not go far enough and need to be supplemented by a phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies, a group of major companies said in an open letter to European Union environment ministers meeting on Monday. The European Commission in July outlined its plans to bolster the Emissions Trading System (ETS), on which permits to pollute trade at around 8.5 euros per tonne, seen as too little to drive a shift to lower carbon energy.
UK Energy Suppliers Actions are Legal: watchdog
Britain's largest energy suppliers have acted in line with competition laws, the country's anti-trust watchdog said on Tuesday in its preliminary findings of an anti-trust probe. "The presence of vertically integrated firms does not have a detrimental impact on competition," the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. A year ago, the CMA launched an investigation into whether Britain's six largest energy suppliers, which hold around 90 percent of the market, are abusing their dominant market position.
EDF's Areva Deal to Shake Up UK Hinkley Point Ownership
Plans for French utility EDF to buy Areva's nuclear business will mean a shake-up in the shareholder structure of Britain's first new nuclear plant to be built in a generation, an official at EDF's British subsidiary said. EDF is negotiating details for a takeover of struggling Areva's nuclear business valued at $3 billion, a deal approved by the French government but that could take months to finalise. EDF has put forward…
Vestas Giant Turbine the Preferred Choice for Big UK Wind Project
Vestas' largest offshore wind turbine yet has been made the preferred choice for a huge wind park in British waters as the Danish firm strives to catch rival Siemens. So far, compatriot DONG Energy has been the only customer for the V164 8 megawatt (MW) turbine, which it had helped test. Now, Eneco Wind and EDF Energy said on Thursday they want it for their Navitus Bay project, one of the largest in the world. "It is very positive that customers who do not have the same insights into the development of V164 as DONG…
Britain's Gas Storage Cuts Heighten Risks for Winter
Britain's available natural gas storage capacity will fall to its lowest level in almost a decade this summer, increasing the system's reliance on supply from the continent and the risk of price spikes next winter. Utility Centrica on Thursday idled nearly 30 percent of Britain's biggest gas storage site, Rough, for six months to test wells. The site accounts for around 72 percent of Britain's gas storage capacity, National Grid data shows…
EDF Energy Cutting Consumer Gas Price
EDF Energy will reduce its standard gas price by 1.3 percent on Feb. 11, becoming the final company of the UK's six big energy suppliers to cut consumer rates, reflecting a fall in wholesale energy costs. EDF Energy, a subsidiary of France's EDF, said that the cut would make its standard dual fuel prices cheaper than all but one of the major suppliers, E.On. "If wholesale gas prices create cost reductions which allow further price cuts these will be passed to customers as soon as possible…
E.ON Cuts UK Household Gas Prices
E.ON has cut household gas prices on the back of a drop in wholesale energy prices, becoming the first energy supplier in Britain to pass on savings to consumers and putting pressure on other providers to do the same. The company said it would reduce British household gas prices by 3.5 percent, a cut that it expects will lower customers' gas bills by about 24 pounds ($36) a year. Wholesale gas prices have fallen on the back of a steep drop in oil prices and British politicians…
