First Update of March 2020 – 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 – 2nd March

• More than 12 million UK homes (about half) are rated below C Grade (scale A to G) for energy efficiency.

• A consortium led by BP and Shell has launched a Hydrogen Taskforce to examine and promote the role of hydrogen in meeting UK net zero emissions targets as well as aims for UK to develop a role in global hydrogen solutions.

Tuesday – 3rd March

• UK Government has lifted opposition to onshore wind power generation allowing onshore wind to compete for financial support with other renewable projects.

• Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage Project is moving to the next stage of development. Acorn aims to be the first CCS plant in UK. Based at Saint Fergus in NE Scotland, the project will convert natural gas from the north sea into hydrogen for blending into the grid; then capture and store the Carbon Dioxide by-product.

Wednesday – 4th March

• A company will open the first hydrogen refuelling station in central Scotland near Edinburgh. Company Director quotes the need for urgent action like this to meet longer-term emissions targets and support policies regarding petrol/diesel/hybrid vehicles.

• UK Government has announced plans to increase the amount of ethanol in petrol in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions. Transport Secretary claims it to be the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the UK roads. Article also shows almost 5-fold increase in purchase of battery electric vehicles (BEV’s) in previous 5 years in UK.

Thursday – 5th March

• A briefing from the UK House of Commons Library lays out the status of UK nuclear power: UK has 15 existing reactors contributing about 25% of power as ‘base load’. 13 reactors are in various stages of construction or planning including Hinkley Point in SW England.

Friday – 6th March

• 45 households in London have taken part in a UK Government trial using household batteries to store non-peak demand electricity for use at peak demand.

• Ahead of this week’s UK Government budget, the nuclear industry has warned that 2050 net zero emissions cannot be achieved without commitment to further new nuclear plants. Article points out that nuclear power provides 20% of UK electricity and that all but one of the existing fleet will be closed down in the next ten years.