C Nelson
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Business supply and services
Power prices for SME’s reach record highs
According to our latest Pricing in the SME power market report, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) power prices have continued to rise in Q221, reaching the highest level since our records began in Q212. On average, prices have increased by 24.8% year-on-year at the PC3-6MWh and PC3-15MWh consumption points and...
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Low carbon generation
Our Renewables Pipeline Tracker: In with the new – scoping projects and progression through planning stages
Our latest Renewables Pipeline Tracker was published on 11 June, and this blog provides a summary of some of the recent developments in our coverage of the pipeline for new build and repowering renewables assets in GB. What’s new? Seabed leasing rounds, scoping projects and CfD announcements Since our previous...
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Heat networks
Reallocating electricity policy costs to incentivise low carbon heating technologies
Funding the cost of decarbonising the power system has mainly been through the consumers' electricity bills. In fact, in 2020-21 these costs amounted to a whopping £10bn. But is this method of raising revenue for decarbonisation still fit for purpose when faced with the need to decarbonise the nation's heat?...
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Regulation and policy
How will consumers take to Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement?
Ofgem published its decision to implement the move to Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) on 20 April. This confirms plans to move to new settlement arrangements over a four and a half year time period, with the Elexon-led Design Working Group’s Target Operating Model to be used as the blueprint. Meters...
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Net zero corporates and ESG
Financing net zero panel advises policymakers for a long-term view of net zero to boost merchant renewable confidence
Last Thursday's 'Financing net zero forum' brought together 580 registered attendees across the renewables sector to listen to the expert panel discuss managing renewable merchant risk. Joining the chair of the meeting were experts from across the industry, with Shoosmiths sponsoring the afternoon discussions. Merchant renewables – the development of...
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Regulation and policy
Ofgem raises modifications ahead of RCC and new switching arrangements
The latest edition of our Faster Switching Service Report due to be issued this week includes the latest developments in Ofgem’s Switching Programme and the associated Retail Energy Code (REC). Launched in November 2019, the Retail Code Consolidation (RCC) Significant Code Review (SCR) set out Ofgem’s intention to amalgamate the...
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Announcement
Women in the energy sector: Enabling progress at Cornwall Insight
Today, the campaigning group POWERful Women* (PfW) will launch its 2021 statistics on gender diversity at the top of the UK energy sector (register here). Like many of you, I will watch with interest to see how the picture has evolved: last year it reported 13% of executive board directors in...
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Net zero corporates and ESG
Get ready for climate risk reporting?
On 30 April we released the latest copy of our Energy net zero. The publication takes an in-depth look at the UK's transition to a low carbon economy. The below is an extract from our Energy Perspective on Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). The article was originally published in the...
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Commercial and market outlook
Data centres predicted to become prosumers of electricity
In combination with Cornwall Insight and Bit Power, Host in Ireland published its Biannual report of Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry. The report highlights the importance of sustainability in Ireland’s digital transformation. The report confirmed the number of operational data centres in Ireland increased by 25 per cent over the past...
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Energy storage and flexibility
Investor optimism sparks PPA competition
In recent months, Cornwall Insight has issued several of our regular subscription reports from our PPA Insights Service covering both renewable and flexibility Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) markets, namely the Green Power Forecast, Renewable PPA Market Share and Flexible PPA Market reports. As part of these reports, we conduct surveys...
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Announcement
Your invite to our wholesale Summer Outlook 2021 webinar
We are delighted to invite you to our wholesale Summer Outlook webinar. On 12 May, Cornwall Insight will be hosting an open webinar covering our independent views, analysis and outlook of the upcoming summer 2021 period. As part of this session, we will explore a range of both historic and...
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Regulation and policy
Calm before the storm? 2021 energy supplier compliance developments
The latest update to our Energy Supplier Compliance Portal went live on 4 May and includes changes to the compliance landscape during February to April 2021. While the previous quarter’s update reflected new principles resulting from Ofgem’s Supplier Licensing Review (SLR) and protections for prepayment meter customers facing self-disconnection, Q121...
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Power and gas networks
Green hydrogen is “essential” for the UK to achieve net zero
Today, we released the latest copy of our Energy net zero. The publication takes an in-depth look at the UK's transition to a low carbon economy. The below article analyses the UK landscape for hydrogen and how it is "essential" to achieve its climate goals. The article was originally published in the...
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Regulation and policy
Electricity transmission charging reform – overtaken by changing priorities?
Charging for the transmission network is never out of the development process for long. From major reviews, such as that initiated under Project Transmit in 2010, to significant reforms such as removing the triad benefit from distributed generation in 2018, and a host of smaller developments, change seems the only...
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Low carbon generation
Why energy system governance is not fit for purpose
In my recent blog, the Emperor’s new clothes I referenced a poll of our Financing Net Zero (FNZ) membership which revealed 75% support for an energy systems architect to ensure we manage the net zero transition. In the spirit of independent thinking that Cornwall Insight is known for, I respectfully disagreed and...
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Energy storage and flexibility
How nuclear energy can help the UK reach its net zero goals
This article was originally written in Energy Spectrum on 21 March 2021. To find out more about a subscription to Energy Spectrum, please contact Nick on n.palmer@cornwall-insight.com. There are several challenges to reaching net zero, where its proponents believe nuclear could add value. Some of tomorrow’s main issues concern: How to provide low...
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Commercial and market outlook
Heat pumps and peak power demand in North-West Europe in 2030
In March Cornwall Insight launched its new Energy Spectrum Europe publication in collaboration with the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne (EWI). Below is an extract of our Energy Perspective article from our latest issue, written by Nils Namockel from EWI. Heat pumps powered by green electricity...
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Announcement
Cornwall Insight supporting families through Leeway
In April 2020, the Cornwall Insight team voted for our new charity of the year. We chose ‘Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse Services, a charity local to our head office in Norwich. In summary, Leeway has the following: A domestic abuse helpline for free, confidential and non-judgmental adviceOne-to-one support and...
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Commercial and market outlook
Celebrate with us: Our one year anniversary of Australian ‘Charts of the week’!
To celebrate our Australian ‘Chart of the week’ one year anniversary, we’ve compiled our top four selection below! One | Guess who’s back… Batteries are back… back again This ‘Chart of the week’ was an update to a previous ‘Chart of the week’ released back in October 2019. We looked at the...
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Commercial and market outlook
ESB charts direction for changes to the NEM
The below extract has been taken from our eighth edition of ‘Energy Spectrum Australia’, and if you would like to read more about the latest developments in the Australian energy market, please contact enquiries@cornwall-insight.com.au for a free trial of our ‘Energy Spectrum Australia’ service. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has provided an...
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Commercial and market outlook
In the midst of the Australian Energy Transformation Process
Australia is in the midst of an energy supply and distribution transformation. This transition is twofold and includes not just bridging the gap from conventional fossil fuels to renewable technologies (due to their reduced carbon footprint, lower levelized cost of energy and improved reliability levels by comparation), but also requires...
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Commercial and market outlook
A look back at 2020 part 2
As we take our first steps into 2021, we continue to look back at the biggest developments in the UK energy markets in 2020, setting us up for the significant year ahead. The COVID-19 crisis had a pronounced impact on demand and prices throughout the year. At the height of...
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Commercial and market outlook
A look back at 2020
As we take our first steps into 2021, we look back at the biggest developments in the UK energy markets in 2020, setting us up for the significant year ahead. As 2019 turned into 2020, we were still waiting for the Energy White Paper (EWP), a document which had been...
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Announcement
The top 5 podcasts of 2020
We released 13 podcasts in 2020 covering all aspects of the energy market, from the Capacity Market and Electric Vehicles to Faster Switching and heat networks. Here are our top five podcasts of the year, ranked by the number of people who listened. 5. The Impact of COVID-19 on System...
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Announcement
Update | Demand for more charging infrastructure as EV ownership increases
We recently received additional information on a press release issued at the beginning of December on Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) charge points. Below is an update to the data and graph. We would like to apologise for any issues this may have caused. Updated analysis by Cornwall Insight shows the...
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Announcement
Cornwall Insight comments on the Energy White Paper
Commenting on the government's release of the Energy White Paper, which sets out plans to decarbonise the UK's energy system, Gareth Miller, CEO of Cornwall Insight, said: “The Energy White Paper maps out the biggest change to the energy markets since the Electricity Act of 1989. Many of the headlines...
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Energy storage and flexibility
DNO to DSO: A work in progress
Last month the Electricity Network Association (ENA) published updated figures regarding the procurement of Distribution Network Operator (DNO) flexibility services. This is the latest update from the ENA since April this year, with the document highlighting the historical uptake of services across the DNO regions. The publication also provides projections...
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Regulation and policy
New gas transmission charging requires early charge changes
New gas transmission charging arrangements were implemented in October 2020 under UNC678A Amendments to Gas Charging Regime (Postage Stamp) in order to achieve alignment with the EU Tariffs Code (TAR). The change introduced a framework around capacity charges to cover transmission revenues with a methodology to calculate reserve prices based...
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Regulation and policy
Ofgem’s Network Access and Forward Looking Charges review – should I be interested
Spoiler – if you are a distribution connected generator, yes, In a big way Ofgem is currently progressing one of its biggest overhauls of network charging; with the Targeted Charging Review having only recently concluded that is quite a statement. We have already seen the value to distribution connected generators...
