Third Update of July 2019 – An overview of last week’s Energy news

Below is this week’s summary. It should be a one minute read relevant to UK energy with links to documents for those who wish to read more.

(Click a bullet point to open the relevant article)

Monday – 15th July

• Record high wind electricity generation in Scotland for first 6 months of 2019.

Tuesday – 16th July

• UK gas and electricity markets regulator ofgem, plus Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have written a joint letter to the Energy Networks Association laying out expectations for future development. According to the letter they suggest a flexible, smart system could save 17 to 40 billion pounds by 2050.

Wednesday – 17th July

• This article makes the case for biomass as a renewable energy supply including when it is and isn’t sustainable.

• UK Government All-Party Parliamentary Group is urging Government to double the proportion of ethanol from plant and other waste material in petrol from 5% to 10% in the next year. Article points out that this may increase import dependency for the bio-fuel.

Thursday – 18th July

• UK Government body for radioactive waste management is describing plans for nuclear waste including the search for a permanent subsurface disposal site known as the Geological Disposal Facility.

• China is building ‘ultra-low emission’ coal-powered electricity generation plants to provide a further 11 GW of electricity in the next 2 years (note: UK electricity demand for last week averaged about 25 GW).

• NE Scotland Press and Journal reports that Aberdeen will be the first city to have hydrogen-powered double-decker buses.

Friday – 19th July

• A UK energy supplier aims to attract customers by offering up to 1,200 miles per year of free electric vehicle power using off-peak power.

• US Liquid Natural Gas exports have gone from zero to a peak of almost 6 billion cubic feet of gas per day in 3 years (for context, UK uses average approximately 8 BCF per day).

Saturday – 20th July

• Six UK Government Select Committees including Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have announced plans to form a “Citizens’ Assembly” in order to contribute to the recently announced policy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Assembly will take place over a number of weekends in the upcoming Autumn and Winter.