CfD

  • 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...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    The PM’s 10-point plan: Further thoughts from our Energy Spectrum webinar

    In our regular Energy Spectrum webinar on Tuesday 24 November, Senior Writer Nick Palmer and Head of Relationship Development Robert Buckley discussed the government’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution. They considered what has led to this point, what is in the plan, what the reaction was to it...

  • Regulation and policy

    COVID-19-driven changes to electricity Third Party Charges

    The impact of COVID-19 on the energy sector has been a hot topic for the last few months. As we progress further into the UK’s lockdown period we are now beginning to piece together the wider picture of effects across energy Third Party Charges (TPCs). These impacts are expected to...

  • Low carbon generation

    FiT costs to reach all-time high amid COVID outbreak

    Energy Third Party Charges (TPCs) have certainly been in the limelight recently, and rightly so as less consumption from non-domestic sectors is resulting in a greater recovery of money from domestic households amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Several measures have been taken to date to protect domestic suppliers and consumers from...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    BEIS opens consultation on CfD payment deferral

    BEIS launched a consultation on a proposal to defer to Q121 part of the increase in electricity suppliers' obligations for Q220 for the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. Launched on 12 May, the consultation is a follow up to the decision BEIS took on 24 April to provide a one-off...

  • Home supply and services

    From “what if?” to “what now?”

    As the UK begins its third week of lockdown, the nation’s energy sector continues to wait to see whether there will be any economic or financial support targeted specifically at end users, suppliers, network operators and fellow participants alike. Immediate issues for end users include their ability to pay their...

  • Low carbon generation

    Lessons from a lock down

    We are all facing a new, simpler existence. For my part, I have been self-isolated for three weeks. My little flat in central London has become almost my entire existence, my days have settled into a simple routine, and I've had plenty of time to reflect. Although COVID-19 presents an...

  • Low carbon generation

    Editor’s Pick | The green shoots of the Capacity Market auctions

    A pivotal year for the Capacity Market (CM) draws to a close, with the first long-term auctions for capacity since 2018. But for once the CM is the least interesting thing happening in the market, and the scheme itself seems out of step with the net zero future. In this Energy...

  • Low carbon generation

    CfD proposals turn the tide, but how many boats will rise remains unclear

    BEIS announced on 2 March a consultation on wide-ranging changes to the Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme, including the re-integration of Pot 1 technologies. This is a significant change in the direction of renewables policy. Our CEO Gareth Miller, who previously worked on designing and implementing the CfD contract in...

  • Regulation and policy

    Storage story: a regulatory run-down

    While electricity storage has long been recognised as a crucial solution to mitigating the drawbacks of some types of renewable generation, it has taken some time for the regulatory and charging framework to catch up. It has taken years, but recent progress on the licensing and exemptions from some final...

  • Announcement

    Celebration: Cornwall Insight wins second FT award

    Tom Palmer, our managing consultant, discusses our recent success of achieving a bronze award for consulting from the Financial Times for the second year running. Last week we discovered that for the second year running we have been rated in the top 20 Management Consultants for Energy, Utilities and Environment...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Energy policy: a growing schism between Scotland and the UK

    Scottish Public Finance Minister Kate Forbes announced the Scottish Budget 2020-21 in a statement on 6 February. This revealed a significant package of funding to accelerate Scotland’s transition to a net zero economy. With the UK Budget due to be announced on 11 March, the Scottish government has presented tax...

  • Low carbon generation

    Cornwall Insight and the UK EfW market

    As the UK has continued its evolution towards decarbonisation, one of the lesser talked about success stories has been in energy from waste (EfW).  EfW in the UK has grown to around 50 operational plants processing around 12mn tonnes of residual waste (but with capacity to potentially process nearly 14mn...

  • Low carbon generation

    Editor’s Pick | Talkin’ bout a revolution: What next for the CfD?

    This article was originally published in Energy Spectrum Issue 685 on 7 October 2019. The Contract for Difference (CfD) results for Allocation Round 3 (AR3) once again provided some striking results for the industry to ponder. In this Energy Perspective, we reflect on the success and consider what the results mean for...

  • Low carbon generation

    Scottish government calls for auction system review after CfD AR3 results

    On 20 September, BEIS announced the results of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 3 (AR3). The auction results cleared at record low prices with 2023-24 delivery year prices at £39.65/MWh and 2024-25 prices at £41.61/MWh. The results drew criticism from the Scottish government despite projects in remote islands...

  • Low carbon generation

    Record low clearing prices in Contract for Difference Allocation Round 3

    Record low clearing prices in Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 3 indicate the continued and rapid cost reductions for offshore wind resulting from competitive auctions. Prices below £40/MWh (in 2011-12 money) are extremely low in the context of previous auctions. Even when converted to 2018 money, these equate to...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick | Real-time pricing approved for NZ spot market

    This article was originally published on 31 July 2019 in Energy:2030. The New Zealand Electricity Authority (EA) has decided to settle the spot market on prices determined in real-time (RTP). In its decision, issued on 27 June, the EA said this is the largest change to the wholesale spot market...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick | Unplugged: stakeholders up the pressure on White Paper

    A month is a long time in politics. The euphoria surrounding the introduction and passage of the legislation for 2050 net zero target has proved short-lived, and the government has been pushed very much onto the back foot following the publication of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)’s 2019 scorecard...

  • Low carbon generation

    Constrained development: Scottish wind and the issues of network charging

    Northern Scotland is home to a significant proportion of GB renewables, particularly onshore wind capacity. The region is also likely to be a leader in new capacity developments and we are working directly with a number of developers looking to finalise new subsidy-free projects here. Under subsidy schemes, there is...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Five things we learnt from Energy Spectrum 668

    With five of the Big Six having published their segmental accounts – breakdowns of financial performance and costs across generation and supply business areas – it is readily apparent that, in general, margins are on a downward trend. In this week’s Energy Perspective, we suggest that, while some suppliers were losing money...

  • Announcement

    Inspiratia Offshore wind conference

    Our CEO, Gareth Miller, spoke at the Inspiratia Offshore wind conference held on May 16th. He opened the first session of the conference by setting the scene for a panel session on the competitive dynamics and timetable for CfD Allocation Round 3. He highlighted the likelihood of offshore wind dominating...

  • Regulation and policy

    Smart export guarantee

    This summary outlines Cornwall Insight’s response to BEIS’ January consultation on the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). It expresses support for the broad thrust of the SEG proposals and identifies key issues for further consideration. Overview The proposals set out in the 8 January document The Future for Small-scale Low-carbon Generation...

  • Low carbon generation

    Imbalance prices turn negative for six straight hours

    Imbalance prices turned negative for 13 consecutive settlement periods on Sunday, as low electricity demand and high levels of wind output led the System Operator to reduce generation output from a variety of wind, combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) and biomass power stations. The imbalance price dropped below zero in...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Five things we learnt from Energy Spectrum | Issue 651

    We present five key themes and findings from this week’s edition of Energy Spectrum Issue 651 The debate around new nuclear continues to shift at pace, not least as a result of growing confidence in the role that renewable sources, flexibility, demand-side response and interconnectors can play. In this week’s...

  • Low carbon generation

    CfD floor price – letter to BEIS

    Continuing Cornwall Insight’s contribution to improving low carbon policy mechanisms, in a letter with wide support from the industry, today we have written to BEIS advocating for the introduction of a CfD Floor structure. We developed this innovative model during 2018. We believe that it would reignite investment in onshore...

  • Low carbon generation

    Cornwall Insight’s CfD floor price proposal gains traction as STA calls for government to adapt policy

    The STA issued an updated cost assessment of PV on Tuesday 11 December and also called on BEIS to introduce a technology-neutral floor-price Contract for Difference to help renewables investment come forward in a subsidy free environment. The CfD floor price structure is a proposal we developed in early summer, and we...

  • Low carbon generation

    Cornwall Insight: evaluating drivers of low-carbon investment in a subsidy free world event

    On 17 October 2018 Cornwall Insight hosted a successful and well attended event where the future of support for renewable power generation, against the backdrop of the significant gap between current deployment levels and what must be delivered to meet decarbonisation goals, was discussed. Cornwall Insight experts discussed how although...

  • Low carbon generation

    Revelation: RESS-ult?

    The renewables sector cautiously welcomed the 24 July decision on the High-Level Design (HLD) of the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS). The HLD’s emphasis on the first RESS auction supporting projects that could be built out by the end of 2020 energised the solar community. The Irish Wind Energy Association...

  • Low carbon generation

    The case for a floor price CfD

    There is much interest across the sector at the moment that ‘subsidy-free’ investment could call forward significant renewable generation capacity. We have previously cautioned that the outlook for wholesale power prices challenges these assertions. Our Wholesale Power Price Cannibalisation paper detailed how the value earned from wholesale power is going to become...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    This week’s Energy Spectrum overview | 21 May 2018

    Energy Perspective In this week’s Energy Perspective, we examine the emerging risks of increasing wholesale price cannibalisation, based on the results of our latest insight paper. We expect renewables to make up a significantly larger proportion of the generation mix in the coming years, but argue that alternative sources of...