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

(Click a bullet point to open the relevant article)

Monday – 25th March

• Shell has purchased electricity providers and announce big ambitions for power supply.

• One third of power from present renewables in UK is provided by combustion of biomass.

Tuesday – 26th March

• 21.5 MW power generation unit is now operating in a Cheshire (NW England) plant using waste wood (biomass).

Thursday – 28th March

• Independent article uses recent government figures to point to the continuing dependence of UK residential sector on natural gas for heating. Concerns are raised for how to make the change and reduce emissions including with more energy-efficient housing.

• Offshore wind provided 8% of UK electricity during 2018 according to UK government figures…

• … while renewables overall provided approximately 1/3 of 2018 UK electricity.

Friday – 29th March

• Forbes piece suggests the increasing demand for LNG globally is anticipated to be followed by increased competition for supply and then cost.

Sunday – 31st March

• Guardian reports on the increase in energy prices from 1st April, estimated at £117 per year per household (10% average). This is because the regulator (Ofgem) raises January 2019 price cap in line with the increasing cost of gas in the market.

• Having recently seen permission granted to open a deep coal mine in NW England, the operator behind a plan to open surface coal mining in NE England makes the case: “Given coal is still needed in the UK, it makes greater environmental, economic and social sense to mine our own coal rather than import it”.

• 2500 people are currently employed in SW England to build the new Hinckley nuclear power station.