Third Update of August 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)

Tuesday – 13th August

• China, world leader in solar power, now has solar-powered electricity as cheap as the rest of the grid. Coal still provides 60% of power.

• UK companies are investing in a facility to convert waste plastic into hydrogen in northwest England.

Wednesday – 14th August

• 250,000 tons of waste wood per year, from household recycling centres in Dorset and Hampshire, previously sent to Sweden, will now be transported to a newly opened plant in Wales to generate electricity.

Thursday – 15th August

• The North West Hydrogen Alliance has written to the UK Energy Minister, Andrea Leadsom, to say that hydrogen is essential to meet UK’s 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets.

Friday – 16th August

• Largest wind turbine blade in the world, intended for north sea deployment, over 100m long, has been brought from Netherlands, for testing in northeast England.

• Telegraph article reports that total UK energy bills include £170 million per year to switch off wind turbines when power is not needed or wind levels are too high.
• Previous update showed UK government will provide funds to use or store this ‘waste-wind’.

Sunday – 18th August

• Oxford Institute for Energy Studies concludes that a number of factors mean that the future of UK offshore gas production is bright… improved from 2015.

• FT article reports on the potential opportunity to use the warm water from disused UK coal mines as a source of heat.

• Didcot coal-fired power station in Oxfordshire, England was demolished this week. It began producing electricity in 1968 and was closed in 2013. Four decommissioning workers died there in 2016 when the boiler they were working on collapsed.