Fourth Update of March 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)

Monday – 22nd March

• According to this article, UK will have only one power station fuelled by coal by the end of 2022. The article reports that coal was the biggest source of electricity generation in the UK in 2013 but provided less than 2% by 2020. A UK Union leader expresses concern for jobs and appeals for a ‘Just Transition’ for workers.

Wednesday – 24th March

• The UK Government has announced a North Sea Transition Deal which will aim to cut emissions from offshore oil and gas exploration and production while supporting de-carbonisation of UK industry through Hydrogen production and Carbon Capture and Storage.

• UK research into energy from marine wave power has been granted £7.5 million.

Friday – 26th March

• Article reports UK Government figures showing that renewable power generation sources contributed 43% of UK electricity in 2020 compared with coal and gas which provided 39%. Article suggests this is due to weather (for wind generation), increased wind capacity as well as low demand due to COVID-19 restrictions.

• Scottish Government has announced that equivalent to almost 100% of electricity supply was generated by renewable sources in 2020.

Saturday – 27th March

• UK Government has announced a further £300 million for lower income homes to cut greenhouse gas emissions and save money on energy bills. The announcement states that this brings spending on energy efficiency measures to £1.3 billion and points out that “decarbonising the country’s roughly 30 million buildings is essential .. to meet commitments to eliminating its contribution to climate change by 2050”.