COVID-19

  • Uncategorised

    More details required for large-scale solar rollout in EU

    Last week, our 'Financing net zero forum' gathered to discuss the role of private capital for the next wave of solar across Europe. Joining the meeting chair, Cornwall Insight's Daniel Atzori, were our guest panellists from a leading developer and the Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA). With the European Commission...

  • Net zero corporates and ESG

    Data critical for sustainable investments

    On 24 June, attendees to our 'Financing net zero forum' tuned in to hear the expert panel discussions on the role of data in sustainable investment. Joining the meeting chairs, Cornwall Insight's Daniel Atzori and Emma Bill were our guest panellists from Mercatus and Victory Hill Capital Group LLP. For investors to make...

  • 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...

  • Regulation and policy

    A look back at 2020 part 3

    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 mergers and exits from the supply market that were seen in 2019 continued into 2020 and led...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    SEM articles of the year: All I want for Christmas is RESS-2

    With COVID-19 dominating our everyday lives, we saw similar trends in our most popular articles for the year. Demand shifts were observed in domestic and industrial settings with working patterns shifting from offices to homes all around the country. It was also a landmark year for the renewables industry with...

  • Home supply and services

    Responses to COVID-19 boost energy suppliers’ reputations with customers

    2020 is, unfortunately, proving to be a year that we will never forget. It has been a year of change and adaptability for us all, including domestic energy suppliers, with many suppliers having had to adapt to increasing numbers of customers in distress while operating at reduced capacity and/or with...

  • Home supply and services

    COVID-19: A collection of resources

    This year has seen Governments, businesses and industries coming to terms with the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. The arrival of the pandemic shook the energy market across the value chain. Throughout, our experts have provided the industry with coverage of how COVID-19 has impacted the energy market. We analysed...

  • Low carbon generation

    Mutualisation? Oversupply? Banking? Latest developments in the ROC market

    We track the ROC markets closely through our within-year and long-term market forecasts of ROC values and supplier costs. In this blog we provide a view on the latest market developments and our current forecast levels. If you are interested in the Renewables Obligation, or our market forecasts for the...

  • Low carbon generation

    Demand trends: August sees highest demand since March

    This article was originally published on 25 August 2020 in our ‘SEM and commodity pricing report’.   In this week’s blog we take a look at the latest fundamental developments impacting power prices in the SEM. This will see us take a look at wind generation in the SEM this year, while...

  • Regulation and policy

    Faster Switching Programme gears up for re-commencing

    Due to be issued this week, the sixth edition of our Faster Switching Service Report details the Switching Programme’s re-planning exercise as well as industry participants’ progress on data cleansing. The Switching Programme is facilitating the industry’s move towards new arrangements from March 2022, which should see domestic customers able...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    The future of power prices: Black swans and dragon kings

    Understanding the long-term trajectory of the wholesale market is critical to new generation assets and their investment viability. Here at Cornwall Insight, we support market participants in assessing the potential outlook for wholesale power markets through our long-term market Benchmark Power Curve service. We’ve just updated our latest curves out...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    UK plans EV recovery

    As the UK plans its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy and electric mobility sectors are set to play a key role in delivering economic rehabilitation centred on net zero. Here we discuss the outlook for the electric vehicles alongside recent policy actions made specifically to aid the sector...

  • Low carbon generation

    Demand changes since the easing of COVID-19 measures

    In this week’s focus we will have another look at the ongoing impact on demand from COVID-19 mitigation measures. This comes in the light of the easing of restrictions in both Northern Ireland (NI) and Ireland. On 18 May, the Irish government started its Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, which...

  • Regulation and policy

    Back to the Future: long term vulnerability outcomes

    100 days have passed since the UK was placed into lockdown and, as the government looks to continue easing of restrictions, it’s worth reflecting on where we’ve been and start looking ahead to where we’re going. Thanks to papers from Citizens Advice and National Energy Action (NEA) we now have...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    CRU implements COVID-19 supply suspension scheme

    On 1 May, the CRU set out the details of its decision to implement a temporary supply suspension scheme for eligible SME electricity and gas customers due to the impact of the pandemic. It said that the unique and extraordinary circumstances of the current situation require a modification to the current approach...

  • Water

    Water sector adapts quickly to COVID-19 crisis

    The GB water sector, like almost every sector in the UK, has not escaped from the pressures posed by the COVID-19 crisis. In this article, we present the approaches taken by the respective regulators in England & Wales (Ofwat) and in Scotland (WICS), and MOSL (the market operator for England...

  • 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...

  • Low carbon generation

    The Balancing Mechanism and BSUoS under lockdown

    The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions have severely impacted the GB energy market with demand and prices at record lows. As market conditions have drastically changed, National Grid Electricity System Operator (NG ESO) has been much in the spotlight, with the current low demand scenario providing new operational challenges....

  • Regulation and policy

    Industry codes flex for COVID-19

    In response to the growing impacts of the pandemic, which has seen electricity demand drop dramatically and industry participants unable to go about many of their usual activities, a series of temporary changes have been introduced across industry codes to mitigate some of the most severe effects. They have all...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    BSUoS in COVID-19

    This week National Grid Electricity System Operator (“the ESO”) released its latest forecast of Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) charges – levied on suppliers and large generators to recover costs incurred by the ESO in managing the system on a second by second basis. In this blog we look...

  • Business supply and services

    Three key themes taking place in the TPI sector

    While discussion continues around the impacts of COVID-19 on energy suppliers, the effects have reached into all parts of the energy value chain. Here, we take a look at the impacts on the TPI sector, alongside other key developments in the TPI market, highlighted in our second quarterly update of...

  • Regulation and policy

    How will suppliers be required to support their customers post COVID-19?

    On 1 May our latest update to the Energy Supplier Compliance Portal went live and included changes to the compliance landscape seen during February, March and April this year. A notable feature of the update was the regulatory response to COVID-19, which we will delve into a little deeper in...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    EV sales defy the market

    The spread of COVID-19 in the UK triggered a lockdown which severely impacted vehicle sales in March. Car sales fell 44.4% compared to the same month a year earlier and for the year-to-date are down 31.0%. The primary reasons for this decline appear to be the closure of car dealerships,...

  • Low carbon generation

    RESS-1 application closing date is further extended

    With a lot of uncertainty around the impacts of COVID-19 on global supply chains and renewable project delivery we are starting to see the effects in the Irish Energy market, notably the announcement that prequalification for the Renewable Energy Support Scheme in Ireland will be extended. In December 2019, the...

  • Low carbon generation

    Renewable energy hoped to be at the core of a post-COVID-19 economic recovery

    Transitioning energy systems towards net zero by the mid-century could lead to cumulative global GDP gains of US$98tn (£79tn) over the next three decades compared to a “business-as-usual” trajectory, according to a report published in April by the intergovernmental organisation, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). As per the Global Renewables...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Tootsie slide: Demand drop

    Since both governments of Ireland have restricted movement in the light of COVID-19, we have observed changes to working patterns. This has subsequently resulted in a reduction and shift in demand profile for the island of Ireland. This week's blog looks at demand reduction since COVID-19 restrictions have been in...

  • Low carbon generation

    Turn it up – responding rapidly to manage the system

    In balancing the system, we used to talk mostly about narrowing capacity margins and the need to ensure ‘headroom’. But suddenly there’s a greater need for greater consumption and the provision of ‘footroom’ during COVID-19, and potentially and also in the future. The ESO will need to procure more and...

  • Low carbon generation

    A new playbook for the GB wholesale markets

    With the effects of COVID-19 permeating all parts of the energy value chain, in this week’s Energy Perspective our Wholesale Manager, James Brabben, takes a look at how it is impacting wholesale pricing and the electricity generation fleet, both now and, potentially, in the long term. Order of play We...