Power and gas networks

  • 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...

  • Power and gas networks

    Understanding the backdrop of the UK hydrogen economy

    We are delighted to publish our research note on the hydrogen sector: 'Understanding the backdrop of the UK hydrogen economy'. Serving as a primer for our upcoming series of hydrogen insight papers, we chart the UK’s progress in developing a hydrogen industry. In our paper, we cover essential developments in...

  • Power and gas networks

    Wholesale energy prices fell to record lows in April

    This week we look back at wholesale power price developments throughout April, a month which saw notable bearish price movements. The most prominent of these were the movements in the day-ahead power price. Across April the price averaged €28.0/MWh, the lowest monthly average since the commencement of project I-SEM back...

  • Power and gas networks

    Saudi oil attacks raise prospect of higher energy bills

    Confirmation from the Saudi Arabian energy minister that drone strikes had reduced the country’s oil output by around half is set to resonate across the energy markets, given that the country is responsible for around 10% of the world’s oil production. Early trading on Monday has seen the price of...

  • Power and gas networks

    Rock the boat: Exploring the commercial merits of Shannon LNG

    Back in April, we delved into Ireland’s growing import dependency amid a backdrop of record gas imports into the SEM. Four months on and the trend has persisted, with figures out to the end of July showing imports at a two year high, 29% higher than last year at 2.6bcm....

  • Power and gas networks

    Help! – Ireland’s gas import dependency

    Imports have been intensified recently by falling NBP gas prices and an oversupplied UK gas system aided by strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries, a trend which has continued since winter. The high imports of January 2019 were driven by below-average temperatures, rising power demand and periods of low wind...

  • Power and gas networks

    Parachute: gas proxy and SEM forward markets

    The ability for market participants to hedge their power price exposure remains limited in the SEM, with a lack of forward products available for trading. This means that market participants are often left fully exposed to the spot market – meaning power contracts for almost immediate delivery – but the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Local hero: constraints and security of supply

    Security of supply is back on the agenda. Last week saw the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) publish its Electricity Security of Supply Report 2018. Replicating the analysis from the long-awaited All-Island Generation Capacity Statement 2018-2027 (GCS), it showed Ireland facing potential deficits within the next 6-9 years. The very same...

  • Power and gas networks

    LNG: A Trade Wars story

    With the rhetoric on both sides of the Pacific regarding a potential US-China trade war continuing to mount, energy is not exempt from the list of US goods that the authorities in Beijing are targeting with tariffs. In this article we look at what this could mean for US gas...

  • Power and gas networks

    Sunblock: Solar & Irish connection policy

    The forthcoming decision of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) on stage 1 of its Enduring Connection Policy (ECP-1) will shape the future Irish generation portfolio. The draft ECP-1 document, published in November 2017, sets out how the CRU proposes to allocate electricity connections following Gate 3 – an...

  • Power and gas networks

    With or without you – the Ireland and GB gas systems

    On 1 March 2018 National Grid issued a Gas Deficit Warning (GDW) for the GB market due to the predicted supply and demand imbalance. Ireland can hardly be a passive observer when it comes to the GB gas market given the interconnection and market flows. The Island of Ireland and...

  • Power and gas networks

    Empty spaces: is there a case for new gas storage?

    Overview of this week's Energy Spectrum publication In this week’s Energy Perspective, we explore the implications of recent gas supply incidents and ask the question – do we need more gas storage? Historically, the GB market has lacked the gas storage capacity of its European counterparts. This was brought into sharp...