Martyn Campbell

Top stories today (£) 💷 Next CfD auction will need £2.5bn offshore wind budget to keep 2030 hopes alive https://buff.ly/3TlsuWr The government will need to more than double the offshore wind budget in the next Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction to at least £2.5 billion to maintain any hope of meeting its 2030 deployment target, an industry analyst has warned. Despite being the “heavy lifter” in the UK’s plans for the decarbonisation of the energy system, less than 3.4GW of new offshore wind was procured in the latest auction. Sam Hollister, head of economics, policy and investment at LCP Delta, said this is still “well below” the levels that will be needed to reach the government's goal of deploying 55GW of fixed foundation offshore wind by the end of this decade. ⚠️ Cadent warned of Grenfell Tower fire risk months before blaze https://buff.ly/4cVupIr Contractors working at Grenfell Tower failed to act on warnings issued by Cadent just months before the tragic fire which claimed the lives of 72 people. In March 2017 – just three months before the blaze – Cadent Gas Limited expressed fire safety concerns about work being carried out to replace corroded gas risers in the building. While the Inquiry ruled that "neither the defects [...] nor the failure to have completed the work contributed to the fire", it has made several recommendations to improve working practices in the future. 💧 Regulators to issue speeding ticket-style fines to water companies https://buff.ly/4e9pBA7 Regulators will be given new powers to hand out automatic penalties to water companies under the Water (special measures) Bill. The Environment Agency will be able to impose on-the-spot penalties for polluting, not complying with information requests or reporting requirements, and water resource offences - similar to the way speeding tickets are imposed. The bill will also permit regulators to prosecute water company bosses if they break the law, which could result in imprisonment.

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Completion of Viking Wind Farm means UK's combined onshore and offshore wind capacity is now capable of powering over 26 million homes, according to trade body RenewableUK. The UK's combined onshore and offshore wind power capacity has stormed passed the 30GW mark, with the recent opening of a major new 106 turbine project on the Shetland Islands. Total electricity generation capacity from the UK's onshore and offshore turbines now stands over 30,299MW, which it said was enough to power more than 26 million average homes. The UK's fleet of wind farms is now capable of avoiding over 35 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year from fossil fuel generation. Read more https://ow.ly/YOyb50T9AEH #WindPower #Renewables #NetZero #EcoFriendly

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We've carried out a huge amount of surveys to inform our Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). In fact, our Offshore and EIA Consents Manager, Sean Lindsley-Leake, says "It's probably the largest data sets that I've ever seen for an offshore wind farm". It's all incredibly valuable research though, because it helps us understand fully any impacts Codling Wind Park might have on the environment – and then plan how to monitor and mitigate these. Here's Sean to explain more ⬇️ Fred. Olsen Seawind EDF Renewables UK & Ireland #GeneratingGreenerIreland #OffshoreWind #IrelandClimateTargets #Environment #EIA

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At AREG, we're proud to spotlight our members and their ground-breaking innovations. This week, we're focusing on Buchan Offshore Wind 🌊🍃 Located 75km northeast of Fraserburgh on the stunning Aberdeenshire coast, the Buchan Offshore Wind Farm is set to make waves in the renewable energy sector. With a capacity approaching 1GW, this project is a crucial step towards achieving our net zero targets while creating significant opportunities for our offshore wind supply chain. 🌱 What makes Buchan truly innovative? It’s the next era of offshore wind energy technology, featuring larger turbines and cutting-edge floating foundations. Operating in depths of up to 100m, the project will boast up to 70 turbines installed on BW Ideol’s groundbreaking Damping Pool® floating foundations. This incredible setup has the potential to generate enough power to meet the annual energy needs of approximately 1,400,000 homes! ⚡🏡 As we move towards a sustainable future, Buchan Offshore Wind Farm stands as a testament to renewable energy's transformative potential. Let's embrace this journey towards a greener world! 💚 For more info, visit: https://lnkd.in/gvbccB-H #RenewableEnergy #OffshoreWind #Sustainability #NetZero #Innovation #BuchanOffshoreWindFarm

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Grid connection reform continues the journey to a First Ready, First Connected approach. The latest proposals on connections reform from National Grid ESO, dubbed TMO4 , have been received positively by Ofgem. TMO4 builds on several measures implemented last year to speed up connections, including the Transmission Acceleration Action Plan to reduce build times, and the introduction of Queue Management Milestones (read Charles River Associates' report for Centrica on that here: https://lnkd.in/eupkcvec). The dynamic, indicative connection offers proposed under Gate 1 of TMO4 would ensure that, even at a very early stage, stalled projects would not be able to block those which are more viable. Furthermore, withholding a full offer until land rights and a firm indication of planning application dates are in place would bring GB closer to the process in some European countries such as Germany, where certain permits are a requirement for getting a firm connection date. (It will be interesting to see the exact criteria when the CMP process is underway). These should make a strong contribution to reducing wait times for viable projects. Two other interesting points: 1) Ofgem’s support of ESO’s commitment to consider “financial instruments at Gate 1 and Gate 2 to encourage only viable projects to enter and remain in the connections process” – it will be good to see more detail on this, and any impact it may have on project economics. 2) A one-off capacity auction being currently rejected due to the time it would take to set up. A market-based approach to connections continues to be discussed (e.g., see the latest from Britain Remade, endorsed by Ed Miliband no less) - with one eye on the political horizon, that "currently" may not last forever. ESO’s update: https://lnkd.in/eE7wk4Nk Ofgem’s response: https://lnkd.in/e2jwnibF Britain Remade’s Powerbook: https://lnkd.in/e_F9DAgY #grids #connectionsreform

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