Third Update of January 2021 – 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 – 19th January

• The UK Government has announced plans for new energy efficiency standards for existing homes, new homes and businesses as part of the effort to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

• UK Government has announced that electricity generation using biomass increased by 4% in 3rd Quarter of 2020.

Friday – 22nd January

• UK electricity generation capacity using solar photovoltaic technology grew by 0.5 GW during 2020. 60% of new solar capacity was from ground-mounted systems and 40% from roof space. The majority of roof space panels was on commercial or industrial buildings.

• Plans have been announced to build rapid response gas powered electricity generation plants in north Wales. Rapid response gas units can be brought online quickly to generate electricity at short notice to counter the intermittency of growing renewable supplies as coal is phased out.

• Japanese car manufacturer Nissan has announced it will shift all electric vehicle battery manufacturing for its car manufacturing at the site to its Sunderland (northeast England) plant.

Saturday – 23rd January

• The Mirror reports on rising fuel poverty associated with rising energy costs along with an extended period working from home and home schooling.