Third Update of March 2019 – An overview of last weeks Energy news

(Click a bullet point to open the relevant article)

Monday – 11th March

• Another one bites the dust (UK energy provider). This time it is Brilliant Energy. FT counts 11 UK utility companies have gone under since January 2018. 1 million customers have been displaced.

• Hydro-electric schemes in Scottish Highlands face local opposition.

• Report from onshore trade association shows potential for UK domestic natural gas.

Tuesday – 12th March

• 4.5 million households in China switched from coal to natural gas during 2018. Chinese imports of LNG are growing accordingly. BP predicts China will use 22% of global energy by 2040.

• North Sea production long-term decline predicted by UK government regulator Oil and Gas Authority.

• Bloomberg report, covered by Forbes, predicts global LNG demand will double in the next 15 years; half of exported gas will come from the US which exported 3 billion cubic feet per day during 2018 (roughly 1/3 of UK annual gas consumption).

• First UK offshore wind farm to be decommissioned. Commissioned in 2000.

• Environmental groups including Friends of the Earth raise concerns over importing LNG to Ireland.

Wednesday – 13th March

• UK Chancellor announces new homes will not be connected to the gas grid in six years’ time.

 Thursday – 14th March

• Institute of Welsh Affairs lays out 10-point plan to generate 100% of electricity for Wales by 2035.

• A UK roadshow begins to demonstrate potential of hydrogen as a transport fuel.

Saturday – 16th March

• UK Government announces that waste heat from new High-Speed railway link (HS2) will be used to heat homes.