Fourth Update of September 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 – 21st September

• At a UK ministerial speech, the presenter announced that ” .. the growth of renewables and a strong carbon price have cut coal’s share of electricity generation from 40% in 2012 to only 2% last year”.

Thursday – 24th September

• During a United Nations meeting on 22nd September, China’s president announced that the country aims to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060.

• During a United Nations meeting on 22nd September, the UK Prime Minister stressed his support for offshore wind power generation. He is quoted as saying this is a technology that he “barely believed was possible but I am now a complete evangelist for”. He also expressed support for hydrogen in the transport sector and said “nuclear has to be part of the mix”.

Friday – 25th September

• UK Government figures show renewables rose by 10% of UK electricity in Q2 2020 compared with the same period in the previous year.

• China Liquid Natural Gas imports increased during the period of January to July of 2020 compared with the same period in any previous year in response to economic recovery.

• A six-seater airplane fuelled by hydrogen completed its maiden voyage in the UK this week.

Sunday – 27th September

• Ed Davey, as energy minister in 2013, approved nuclear power generation at Hinkley Point and declared it “a milestone on the road to decarbonisation’. This week, as leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, he is quoted by the BBC as saying ‘the economic case for nuclear power is not there any more’.